Canopy Rivers Announces Board of Directors and Key Additions to Management Team

Canopy Rivers Corporation is pleased to announce its newly appointed, majority independent Board of Directors, as well as a number of strategic appointments to its management team. The appointments strongly position the Company to continue to build out its investment portfolio of companies operating throughout the global cannabis value chain.  

Board of Directors and Management Team Appointments

Effective May 1st, 2018, the Canopy Rivers Board of Directors now includes two nominees of Canopy Growth Corporation and three independent directors. Each director boasts significant executive experience, strategic industry know-how, and a strong public company governance background, and the Board is expected to provide the Company with industry-leading guidance as it moves forward in the rapidly growing global cannabis sector.

Joe Mimran, founder of Club Monaco and Joe Fresh, a judge on Dragons’ Den, and a world-renowned thought leader in merchandise, fashion, and retail, has joined the Board as an independent director.

Asha Daniere, also an independent Director, brings valuable insight as an experienced lawyer with public company experience as well as an entrepreneurial perspective in technology and media from her current role at Blue Ant Media Inc. and her previous role at Score Media Inc.

Richard Mavrinac, the third independent director, is an experienced accountant and finance professional and will provide the Company with invaluable knowledge from his prior roles as Chief Financial Officer of both Loblaw Companies Limited and George Weston Limited.

The Company has also added to its management team, further bolstering its team of experienced financial and technical professionals. Olivier Dufourmantelle (Chief Operating Officer) brings to Canopy Rivers cannabis industry operational skills developed from his years of operational experience at Canopy Growth, where he previously served as Chief Operating Officer. Eddie Lucarelli (Chief Financial Officer), previously a Vice President in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at a chartered Canadian bank, has an extensive corporate finance and business valuation background through his prior roles in the investment banking and professional services worlds. Daniel Pearlstein(EVP, Head of Business Development), previously a principal at an independent investment bank, has significant global cannabis sector experience from his years covering the industry as a top equity research analyst. Matt Mundy(General Counsel) brings to the Company significant legal experience from his prior role at a leading Bay Street law firm, where he advised clients from a variety of industries, including cannabis, on transactional and commercial matters.

The Board of Directors and management team of Canopy Rivers are supported by XIB Consulting Inc. (“XIB”), which provides business management and corporate development consultation services. XIB is a Toronto-based capital markets consulting and advisory firm with a specialization in the global cannabis sector founded by Sean McNultyand Peter Hatziioannou. With substantial mergers and acquisitions advisory, institutional equity sales, and event-driven hedge fund experience, Canopy Rivers anticipates leveraging XIB’s industry experience, robust relationship network and internal support team comprised entirely of former finance professionals from both domestic and international investment banks.

As cannabis regulatory reform continues to unfold across the globe and domestic and international opportunities emerge in its wake, Canopy Rivers’ qualified Board of Directors and management team are expected to position the Company to take full advantage of these opportunities and continue to add to its diversified portfolio of bespoke cannabis industry investments.

Biographies – Board of Directors

Bruce Linton (Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer): Mr. Linton is the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TSX and NYSE-listed Canopy Growth and co-founder of Tweed Marijuana Incorporated. After beginning his career at Newbridge Networks Corporation, Mr. Linton has since held positions that include General Manager and Re-Founder of Computerland.ca, President and Co-Founder of webHancer Corp, and part of the establishing team at CrossKeys Systems Corporation. He was also part of the leadership team for the NASDAQ/TSX initial public offering at CrossKeys.

John Bell (Director): Mr. Bell is Chairman of Onbelay Capital Inc., a Canadian based private equity company. From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Bell was Chief Executive Officer and owner of Polymer Technologies Inc., an automotive parts manufacturer. Prior to that, Mr. Bell was founder and owner of Shred-Tech Limited, a global manufacturer and supplier of industrial shredders and mobile document shredders. Mr. Bell is a director of Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED; NYSE: CGC), Strongco Corporation (TSX: SQP) and the Royal Canadian Mint (TSX: MNT). Mr. Bell is a graduate of Western University Ivey School of Business, a Fellow of the institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, a graduate of the Institute of Directors Program of Canada and the owner’s president program at Harvard and International marketing program at Oxford.

Asha Daniere (Director): Ms. Daniere is Executive Vice-President, Legal & Business Affairs at Blue Ant Media, a multi-platform media company. Ms. Daniere was previously the Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Score Media Inc., a formerly publicly traded sports media company. Prior to her role at Score Media, Ms. Daniere was General Counsel at Fun Technologies Inc., an Internet start-up that previously traded on the TSX and on AIM. Ms. Daniere practiced law in the United States at White & Case LLP and as in-house counsel to The Topps Company, Inc. Ms. Daniere was called to the bar in both New York State and Ontario. She received her J.D. from Tulane Law School and her B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Richard Mavrinac (Director): Mr. Mavrinac served as the Chief Financial Officer of George Weston Limited and Executive Vice President of Loblaw Companies Limited from 2003 to 2007 and is the Chair of the Audit Committee for Canopy Rivers. In 1996, Mr. Mavrinac assumed the role of Senior Vice President, Finance for George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited. Mr. Mavrinac has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Joe Mimran (Director): Mr. Mimran is best-know for creating a succession of visionary brands and retail concepts, including Club Monaco, Caban and Joe Fresh. Mr. Mimran founded Club Monaco in 1985 and in 1999 was purchased by Polo, Ralph Lauren. In 2006, Mr. Mimran founded Joe Fresh a “fast fashion” concept he created for Loblaw’s and retired from in 2014. Currently he is Chairman of Gibraltar & Co Inc. a Toronto based private investment company as well as president of Joseph Mimran and Associates Inc. a branding, product development, design and sourcing company. Mr. Mimran also starred on the popular CBC show, Dragons’ Den.

Biographies – Management Team

Olivier Dufourmantelle (Chief Operating Officer): Mr. Dufourmantelle was previously the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Continuous Improvement and Strategic Expansion for Canopy Growth. Prior to joining Canopy Growth, Mr. Dufourmantelle worked in various leadership and consulting roles in Asia, Europe, and North America at Michelin Tires and McKinsey & Company. Mr. Dufourmantelle received a degree in Electrical Engineering at McGill University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Eddie Lucarelli (Chief Financial Officer): Mr. Lucarelli was previously a Vice President in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at TD Securities. His team provided sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory services to large and mid-cap Canadian companies. During his time at TD, Mr. Lucarelli worked on several transformative transactions in the telecommunications, media, and real estate industries. Mr. Lucarelli began his career at Deloitte LLP where he became a Senior Manager in the firm’s Financial Advisory practice. He advised domestic and international clients across a variety of industries on business valuation matters for transaction, tax, audit, accounting, litigation and other purposes. During his time at Deloitte, Mr. Lucarelli also helped execute the firm’s global financial advisory strategy and completed a placement in London, England. Mr. Lucarelli holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Chartered Business Valuator.

Daniel Pearlstein (Executive Vice President, Head of Business Development): Prior to joining Canopy Rivers, Mr. Pearlstein was a Principal at Eight Capital and top equity research analyst covering the global cannabis sector. At the time of his departure, he was the longest tenured analyst covering the sector and held the largest coverage universe. He was the only analyst publishing on the industry since inception of the MMPR (now the ACMPR) in April 2014, and is the author of ‘The Value Case For Investing In The Cannabis Industry’. Prior to Eight Capital, Mr. Pearlstein held an equity research analyst role at M Partners and established the firm’s healthcare research practice focusing on small cap Canadian clinical- and revenue-stage biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies. Before joining the sell side, he held analyst roles at a North American healthcare venture capital firm, a medical device startup, and a technology transfer incubator analyzing and reviewing opportunities in the life sciences sector. Mr. Pearlstein holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s Degree in Management from the University of Toronto.

Matt Mundy (General Counsel and Corporate Secretary): Prior to joining Canopy Rivers, Mr. Mundy was an associate at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), where he was an active member of the Blakes Cannabis group and regularly wrote and spoke on the latest developments in the industry. His practice at Blakes covered a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and corporate governance. He advised purchasers, vendors and targets on domestic and international transactions, and his experience includes acting for clients in a variety of sectors, including the private equity, financial services, cannabis, and manufacturing sectors. Prior to Blakes, Mr. Mundy clerked at the Ontario Court of Appeal for Chief Justice Warren Winkler and Justice Gloria Epstein. Mr. Mundy holds a B.A. (Hon.) in Political Science and Sociology from McGill University, an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California, and a J.D. (Hon., Valedictorian) from the University of Toronto.

About Canopy Rivers:

Canopy Rivers is a unique investment and operating platform structured to pursue investment opportunities in the emerging global cannabis sector. Canopy Rivers works collaboratively with Canopy Growth to identify strategic counterparties seeking financial and/or operating support and affiliation with the Canopy Growth group of companies. The result is an ecosystem of complementary and best-in-class cannabis operating companies that is representative of all the various niches in this newly developing cannabis economy. As the portfolio continues to develop, constituents benefit from opportunities to join forces with Canopy Growth and collaborate among themselves, resulting in an ideal environment for innovation, synergy and value creation for Canopy Rivers, Canopy Growth and the entire ecosystem of portfolio companies.

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