LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– International medical cannabis platform company Akanda Corp. (“Akanda” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AKAN ) announced today that it has appointed Tom Flow to the role of Chief Operating Officer of Akanda and Managing Director of Holigen, and Steven George to the role of Chief Commercial Officer, effective 1 September 2022. The company believes these two hires will enhance its leadership direction and increase profitability across the European medical cannabis market.
Mr. Flow is an accomplished global business leader with over 15 years of direct experience in the cannabis industry with an emphasis on facility design and operations, including multiple large scale EU GMP certified cultivation facilities. He co-founded a number of cannabis companies during this time, namely MedReleaf Corp. which was subsequently sold to Aurora Cannabis (ACB-NASDAQ) in a transaction valued at $3.2 billion, The Flowr Corporation (“Flowr”) ( FLWR-TSXV ) where he held executive roles including CEO, COO, President and Managing Partner , and Holigen Limited, which the Company acquired from Flowr in May 2022.
Mr. George joins Akanda with extensive experience in the financial services and cannabis sectors. After starting his career in business development roles within financial services, in 2017, he moved to Portugal to obtain his MBA and began working in the European cannabis industry the following year. At that time, he served as Iberian Country Manager and European Alliance Manager at Tilray (TLRY-NASDAQ), where his achievements included Tilray receiving the first ACM (marketing approval) for a dried cannabis flower in Portugal during his mandate and the management of the first. exports of medical cannabis from Portugal to Europe and Israel. In July 2021, Mr. George left Tilray and began providing independent advisory services to cannabis clients throughout the European region.
“The addition of proven executives and global cannabis elites like Tom and Steven is an important milestone for Akanda, expanding our capabilities and increasing our leadership as we go to scale. This starts with maximizing our combined annual cultivation and processing capacity of 10 metric tons (22,000 lbs) at our EU GMP certified premium cultivation facility in Sintra, Portugal. And, we will also focus on the commercial ignition of our outdoor GACP site and 180-hectare greenhouse in Aljustrel, Portugal, which has over 100 metric tons (220,000 lbs) of annual growing capacity,” said Tej Virk, CEO at Akanda “These hires are illustrative of the ongoing work we are doing to build the best possible team to embrace Europe’s rapidly growing cannabis market. Tom is known for his operational skills, building and expanding domestic premium cannabis cultivation businesses in Canada and Portugal. Meanwhile, Steven is a commercial pioneer in Europe and will help us accelerate our path to profitability. We have the internal capability to take a leading position in the existing European market of medical cannabis, with the aim of participating in the adult use market when it opens up.”
As Mr. Flow and Mr. George will be based in offices at Akanda’s premium indoor cultivation facility in Sintra, Portugal.
About Akanda Corp.
Akanda is an international medical cannabis company and wellness platform that seeks to help people live better lives through improved access to high-quality, affordable products. Akanda’s portfolio includes Bophelo Bioscience & Wellness, a GACP qualified cultivation campus in the Kingdom of Lesotho in Southern Africa; Holigen, a Portugal-based grower, manufacturer and distributor with a valuable EU GMP certified indoor cultivation facility; and CanMart, a UK-based fully licensed pharmaceutical importer and distributor supplying pharmacies and clinics within the UK. The company’s seed-to-patient supply chain also includes partnerships with Cellen Life Sciences’ Leva clinic, one of the first fully digital pain clinics in the UK, and other leading distributors of medical cannabis in Germany.
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