PharmaCielo Announces the Appointment of Cannabis Industry Veterans Bob DeGabrielle and Will Nicholas to the Company's Board
- Mr. DeGabrielle was an early entrepreneur and executive in the U.S. cannabis industry; he founded and owns Los Sueños Farms LLC, the largest outdoor grow in North America, which he recently agreed to sell to Curaleaf, Inc.
- Mr. Nicholas is an experienced finance professional and an early investor in the global cannabis industry; he was one of the founding shareholders of Alternative Medical Enterprises LLC, which merged with Verano Holdings LLC in December 2020.
TORONTO and RIONEGRO, Colombia, Sept. 1, 2021 /CNW/ - PharmaCielo Ltd. ("PharmaCielo" or the "Company") (TSXV: PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF), the Canadian parent of Colombia's premier cultivator and producer of medicinal-grade cannabis extracts, PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., today announced that two experienced cannabis market professionals - Bob DeGabrielle and Will Nicholas – have been added to the Company's board of directors. Bob DeGabrielle is an experienced entrepreneur and operator in the sector, and Will Nicholas is a successful long-term investor in the space.
Bill Petron, Chairman and CEO of PharmaCielo Ltd. commented, "As we focus on taking one of the largest, lowest cost cannabis operations in the world, and quickly leveraging it into a position of global leadership, we need to have the right talent and guidance around the table. Bob brings experience at every level of the cannabis value chain, with particular expertise gained from founding, scaling and monetizing the largest outdoor cannabis cultivation footprint in North America. Will brings a very sophisticated global finance perspective, having funded some of the most promising assets in the developing global cannabis industry and helped build them into enduring businesses that create lasting shareholder value."
Background – Bob DeGabrielle
After a lengthy career in acquiring, developing, and selling over US$1 billion of commercial and residential real estate in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Bob DeGabrielle became a pioneer in the cannabis industry.
His involvement in the industry began in Florida where he was instrumental in assisting with the Cannabis Ballot Initiative which passed in 2012. After his successful efforts on the East Coast, he moved to Colorado where he built three dispensaries, a testing lab, and a 25,000 sf indoor cultivation facility. Since 2015, Mr. DeGabrielle has been the managing partner and one of the founders of Los Suenos Farms LLC, the largest outdoor cannabis farm in North America consisting of 36 acres of sun-grown cannabis and an additional 36,000 sf greenhouses. In addition, he is the owner of High Colorado Farms and Nielsen Farms. Combined, all three farms consist of over 66 acres and are currently growing 60,000 plants that should produce in excess of 90,000 pounds of biomass in 2021. Additionally, Mr. DeGabrielle is the owner of Colorado Cannabis Associates comprised of two retail dispensaries and an additional indoor cultivation facility.
He serves on the board of Colorado Leads and MIG (Marijuana Industry Group), the two leading cannabis industry associations in Colorado. Mr. DeGabrielle was also a founding member of the Cannabis Trade Federation, a national industry association in the United States.
In May, 2021, it was announced that these combined business interests were acquired by Curaleaf, Inc., for US$78 million. The transaction is expected to close in late 2021.
Background – Will Nicholas
Will Nicholas is an experienced finance professional with an extensive career in banking and investment management in New York, Zurich and London. Following a career in banking with Bankers Trust Company, Swiss Bank Corporation and UBS Investment Bank, Mr. Nicholas co-founded Oceanwood Capital Management, a London based European-focused event driven hedge fund manager. Mr. Nicholas served as COO and then CEO of the firm over a decade and retired as CEO in 2017.
In 2014, Mr. Nicholas performed extensive research on the burgeoning U.S. medical cannabis industry which led to him becoming a "day 1" investor in Alternative Medical Enterprises ("AltMed"). Mr. Nicholas provided AltMed with strategic advice on the European medical cannabis market prior to its merger with Verano Holdings Corp. Mr. Nicholas, a resident of Oxford, England, continues to actively follow developments in the European Medical cannabis market and has developed a network of industry contacts in the UK, Germany, Poland, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
About PharmaCielo
PharmaCielo Ltd. (TSXV: PCLO, OTCQX: PCLOF) is a global company, headquartered in Canada, with a focus on ethical and sustainable processing and supplying of all natural, medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products to large channel distributors. PharmaCielo's principal (and wholly owned) subsidiary is PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., headquartered at its cultivation and processing centre located in Rionegro, Colombia.
The board of directors and executive team of PharmaCielo are comprised of a diversely talented group of international business executives and specialists with relevant and varied expertise. PharmaCielo recognized the significant role that Colombia's ideal location plays in building a sustainable business in the medical cannabis industry, and the Company, together with its directors and executives, is executing on a business plan focused on supplying the international marketplace.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "is expected", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may" or "will" be taken, occur or be completed or achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements with respect to: Company expectations that GMP audits will be scheduled by potential customers, the completion of scheduled GMP audits by potential customers, expectations that potential customers that have scheduled or completed audits will become customers of the Company, the success or traction of the Company's sales strategy, collaboration with pharmaceutical companies in their product development cycle and the expectation that such collaboration will result in a competitive advantage to the Company and that the advantage will be sustainable, expectations that the successful completion of audits will grow the Company's sales pipeline or build its reputation as a global supplier of choice, the expected timing of the completion of Mexican and Colombian GMP audit processes, the Company obtaining approvals or licenses related to importing Company products into Mexico, and the expectation by the Company that the timing of completion of the Colombian GMP certification will not affect sales. The forward-looking statements in this news release are necessarily based on assumptions, including assumptions with respect to: PharmaCielo's ability to execute its business plan as currently contemplated, PharmaCielo's ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals for the export of its products from Colombia and import of its products into other countries, sufficient demand for the Company's products, that potential customers will be satisfied with the results of audit processes, that any changes to Colombian cannabis legislation will not negatively impact the Company's business, that the Company will be able to locate and retain necessary personnel to achieve its business goals, PharmaCielo's ability to maintain its distribution contracts in good standing and the accuracy of PharmaCielo's projections regarding the market for cannabinoid products. Though management believes that its assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances, the actual results, performance or achievements of PharmaCielo's business may be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements herein. Forward-looking statements can be affected by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including changes to PharmaCielo's development plans, the failure to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals relating to the export of cannabinoid products and the import of these products into other countries, TSXV approval, the inability to export or distribute commercial products through sales channels as anticipated due to economic or operational circumstances, risks associated with operating in Colombia, fluctuation of the market price for the Company's products, risks associated with global economic instability relating to COVID-19, risks related to retention of key Company personnel, currency exchange risk, competition in PharmaCielo's market and other risks discussed or referred to under the heading "Risk Factors" in PharmaCielo's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2019, which is available at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, PharmaCielo undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
SOURCE PharmaCielo Ltd.
Ian Atacan, Chief Financial Officer, +1 416.562.3220, [email protected], PharmaCielo.com; Media Relations: International: Gal Wilder, Cohn & Wolfe, +1 416.602.4092, [email protected]; Investor Inquiries: [email protected]
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