Justin is a Partner with CPG Executive Search.
CPG Executive Search is a boutique search firm applying their technical knowledge within food, pharma and specialty manufacturing to the cannabis sector.
They have experience filling technical roles within QA, Regulatory, Engineering & Maintenance, R&D and also corporate roles within Finance, Sales & Marketing and Supply Chain.
Justin spent the first few years of his career in finance and is a CFA charter holder.
Dr. George Mammen is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. His focus of research revolves around cannabis’ medical application, particularly in mood and anxiety disorders, along with the public health implications of upcoming legalization. George is also a consultant for Beleave Inc., where he is contributing to a number of health research and education projects around medical cannabis (e.g., preparing to collect patient-data to study medical cannabis’ long-term effects on various conditions) and recreational cannabis (e.g., synthesizing scientific content for an educational campaign around cannabis impaired driving).
José Casaretto, Ph.D. is a plant biologist with twenty years of research experience in plant physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology. He was director and co-investigator of over ten research projects focused on studying different aspects of plant metabolism and environmental stress tolerance in different plant species. Dr. Casaretto is an Associate Research Scientist at the University of Guelph where he has used genomics tools to investigate regulatory networks of plant metabolic pathways and stress responses in crops. He is part of a team of researchers that investigates the molecular basis and potential behind cannabis genetics -and other medicinal plants- that will have useful applications for the production of compounds of interest for the industry.
Vijay Sappani is a successful diversified cannabis entrepreneur and angel investor in several Cannabis start-ups. He is currently Founder and CEO of Ela Capital Inc, a boutique investment and advisory services firm focused on cannabis, medical devices and healthcare sector. He is co-founder of Qunuba Sciences, one of the world’s largest cannabis and medical devices advisory company, co-founder of High noon, a premium cannabis house of brands company, and co-founder and former Chief Strategy Officer of TerrAscend, one of the largest publicly traded Canadian Cannabis company. He is also board member of Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM) and has been a speaker and panelists in many conferences.
Vijay through Ela Capital has several investments and advisory engagements with cannabis companies in Europe, Asia, Africa and LATAM.
Ela Capital has investments in several cannabis companies in tissue culture, vaporizers, cannabis formulations, clinical trials, distribution, CBD supply chain and cannabis brands.
Vijay has over 15 years of multinational experience in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, government and security. He has held senior positions with Natco Pharma, Mylan and Biovail. He also served as Senior Special Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and was a member of the board for the ministry’s Pharmacy Council. Currently he serves on the board of the MacDonald Laurier Institute focused on Indo-Pacific region policies, CDG Canada rare disease group and has previously served on the boards of over a dozen community and national organizations.
Vijay holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from and a post-graduate in marketing management.
Jonathan Sherman is a member of the Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP Cannabis Group and assists a broad range of industry participants, including licensed producers in both Canada and the United States, pre-licensed applicants in Canada and abroad as well as a variety of ancillary businesses in the sector.
Jonathan represents public and private companies and investment dealers in domestic and cross-border transactions and advises issuers with respect to general corporate and securities law matters, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and go-public transactions, joint ventures, alternative financing solutions and other corporate commercial transactions.
Jonathan’s representative work includes various corporate and commercial transactions for Canopy Growth Corporation as well as Canopy Rivers Corporation, the strategic investment platform formed by Canopy Growth in order to provide growth capital to licensed producers and pre-licensed applicants. In addition, he recently assisted Canopy Growth with its expansion into New Brunswick and Canopy Rivers with their initial financing rounds and strategic investment transactions.
Jonathan is also a regular contributor to the Canadian Life Sciences blog at Cassels Brock, having authored articles with respect to alternative financing options, exports under the current medical cannabis regime and other regulatory and licensing developments in both the medical and adult-use markets.
Charles Alovisetti is a senior associate and co-chair of the corporate department at Vicente Sederberg LLC. Prior to joining Vicente Sederberg, Mr. Alovisetti worked as an associate in the New York offices of Latham & Watkins and Goodwin where his practice focused on representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as public companies, in a range of corporate transactions, including mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures, growth equity investments, venture capital investments, and debt financings. In addition, Mr. Alovisetti has experience counseling portfolio and emerging growth companies with respect to general corporate and commercial matters and all aspects of compensation arrangements, including executive employment and consulting agreements, stock option plans, restricted stock plans, bonus plans, and other management incentive arrangements. Mr. Alovisetti has experience in both U.S. and cross-border transactions, and has advised clients across a range of industries prior to focusing on the cannabis industry. In addition to his corporate work, Mr. Alovisetti has worked with clients on multiple licensing applications in Maryland, Hawaii, Texas, and Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, from McGill University and a law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Mr. Alovisetti is admitted to practice in both Colorado and New York and is a Level One Interprener. He can be reached at charlie@vicentesederberg.com. Follow him on Twitter @CAlovisetti.
In dealing with a wide variety of labour and employment issues, Fiona takes great care in understanding her clients’ businesses and delivering advice that is tailored to meeting their specific needs. She cares deeply about addressing her clients’ concerns and resolving their issues.
Fiona’s practice focuses on advising clients with respect to compliance with employment standards, human rights, pay equity and occupational health and safety requirements and minimizing liabilities with respect to terminations. Fiona also regularly drafts, negotiates and advises on the enforcement of contractual and commercial arrangements with employees, including employment and consulting agreements, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, equity and non-equity based compensation arrangements and bonus plans, the assignment of intellectual property rights and separation packages. In addition, Fiona represents clients in litigation arising out of the employment relationship, including wrongful and constructive dismissal litigation and matters before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
Fiona’s commercial employment law practice involves assisting the firm’s corporate clients with all labour and employment aspects of corporate transactions, restructurings and mergers and acquisitions, including employment-related diligence, successor employer issues and preparing related employment and consulting agreements. Fiona represents employers in the public, private, non-profit and charitable sectors across a range of industries and contexts, including technology, manufacturing, automotive, health and wellness, insurance, transportation, retail and marketing, among others.
Fiona enjoys working with clients to develop workable business solutions.
Dr. Shane Morris leads Morris and Associates Consulting Inc., a global cannabis consultancy that provides regulatory and product development support to industry actors based on experience and proven execution. Dr. Morris has held C-suite and senior executive leadership roles in government and industry. He has over 20 years of experience in scientific and regulatory affairs. Dr. Morris has been a senior executive in the cannabis industry since 2015. Committed to rigorous, science-based consumer focused innovation, Shane has led the development and market introduction of many new cannabis products in the Canadian and European markets. Prior to consulting, Dr. Morris was Chief Product Officer for Aurora Cannabis. Shane’s proven expertise in quality assurance, cannabis operations, regulatory affairs and food safety ensured success in launching legal vapes, gummies, mints, chocolates, cookies, softgels and drinks. Products developed by Dr. Morris had retail sales of over $40M in 2020. Dr. Morris currently serves on the Board of Directors on Feather Inc, a cannabis innovation company operating in Canada and the USA.
Derek Riedle (pronounced reed-lee) is the founder and publisher of Civilized – a media company that speaks to motivated, productive adults who choose to enjoy cannabis as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle, but do not define themselves by it. He approaches life with wide-eyed curiosity and a gut feeling for what people want before they know they want it.
Derek has crafted the message and shaped the story of leading companies and winning political campaigns across North America. He founded strategic communications agency, Revolution Strategy and is the co-creator of Real Houses of… a television series showcasing some of the most interesting homes in North America and the personalities behind them.
Rooted in Canada’s east coast but living in Los Angeles, he’s learned to surround himself with really great people and get out of the way. Derek loves a good story, a witty sense of humor and authentic personalities. He maintains a strict no-assholes-allowed policy.
Home grown social influencer Barinder Rasode’s quintessential advocacy for Canadian values is nationally renowned. Her leadership, mastery of complex subjects and innovation guides a plethora of issues that impact the everyday life of Canadians Barinder is the CEO of NICHE, a not-for-profit organization that provides impartial, evidence-based research about cannabis production and use in Canada.
Based in Vancouver with a national vision, NICHE was established in 2017 after discussions with the Federal and Provincial governments, industry, universities, patients, consumers, non-governmental organizations, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
She has also served on the Board of Directors for Fraser Health, which provides governance and vision for the largest health authority in British Columbia. In her appointed role, she worked with senior management to establish overall strategic direction, review long-term plans, and ensure appropriate community consultation.
Barinder has extensive experience working with senior levels of government, stakeholders and the private sector to find common ground to encourage respectful, informed dialogue on diverse issues to tackle emerging challenges facing Canada’s future.
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