TORONTO, Mar. 1, 2019 /CNW/ – Today, Vinzan International Inc., a Toronto-based cannabis trading company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Donald Stewart as Chief Financial Officer. Donald brings 20 years of leadership experience in capital markets to Vinzan International as they prepare for their 2019 initial public offering. Donald comes to Vinzan International after nearly 12 years as Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Canada where he led the firms international trading business.
We are thrilled to welcome one of Canada’s top international trading executives to lead our capital markets team.
Vinzan International CEO, Brian Armstrong
With our IPO quickly approaching, adding an experienced leader with Donald’s business acumen is exactly what Vinzan International needed as we transition into publicly traded markets.
Vinzan International is building world-class food and pharma grade extraction facilities in Colombia and Southeast Asia and has 280,000kg of THC/CBD production allocated through multi-year supply agreements with international partners. By applying a 150-year old business model used by the world’s largest agriculture companies, Vinzan has positioned itself to be a leader in the global cannabis market.
“For years I have been watching the evolution of the global cannabis market and I am pleased to be joining one of the most innovative and forward-thinking cannabis teams in the sector,” said Donald Stewart, CFO “Vinzan International embraces cannabis as a commodity and we have a proven long-term plan to capitalize on this emerging global market.”
Vinzan International is building a strong global team with years of experience in cannabis, international commodity trading, corporate governance and capital markets. With over 300 contract farmers and employees across 4 countries, Vinzan International is quickly becoming the cannabis company to watch in 2019.
“We are entering into an age of accountability in the cannabis sector as investors are looking for sound business fundamentals and bottom line profitability.” said Armstrong “Adding a person with Donald Stewart’s experience to our team reinforces our commitment to delivering value and strong year-1 profitability for our shareholders.”
About Donald Stewart:
From 2007-2019, Donald Stewart was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Canada, the leading global equities firm in Canada. He was responsible for the execution of equities trades across global markets for some of the largest asset managers in Canada, including major pension and mutual funds. As a Director at BMO Capital Markets, Donald pioneered algorithmic trading into the Canadian market place. During that time, he built a team of traders offering program and algorithmic trading services to institutional clients. With 20 years of capital markets experience, he is considered one of the most trusted and respected traders in the Canadian marketplace. Donald Stewart is the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 2 Intelligence Company, of the Canadian Army. He holds engineering and MBA degrees from Queen’s University and is a professional Engineer (P.Eng), and CFA charterholder.
About Vinzan International:
Vinzan International is a licensed global cannabis trading company with operations in Laos, Thailand, and Colombia. These three markets were identified because of their low cost of production, legal cannabis framework, and ideal cultivation climate. Vinzan embraces the 150-year old physical commodity trading model used by the world’s largest agriculture companies. Using contract farming, Vinzan offtakes hemp and cannabis from cultivation partners and process them in world class facilities at above EU GMP standards. The product in extract or final form is then shipped to top-tier international partners in key regions. Vinzan is currently allocating 280,000kg of product through 5-year supply agreements. Using encrypted extraction on cloud technology with leading edge processing and extraction systems, Vinzan’s facilities are equipped with the latest and best industrial components for maximum through put and systems dependability. The regional cultivation partners are provided with seeds from the Vinzan genetics program that are grown and developed under an IP growth management plan for each country of operation for maximum yield and consistency. With global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, the Vinzan International team brings years of experience in cannabis, capital markets and global physical commodity trading. Vinzan is currently in the final stages of a first-round capital raise and on track for an initial public offering in 2019.
