Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or “the
Company”) (NASDAQ: VFF) today announced that it is expanding its
executive team with the following new roles:
- Chief Operating Officer – Ann
Gillin Lefever;
- President, Global Medical Cannabis
– Paul Furfaro; and,
- General Counsel, Global Cannabis –
John Harloe.
“We have expanded our global cannabis business
considerably over the last several years with strong, profitable
growth in Canada while adding four medicinal export markets, with
more to come. In the Netherlands, we are building out our initial
facility as the only North American company to participate in the
first major recreational cannabis market in Europe. The creation of
these new positions reflects both our proven business model and the
significant potential of our cannabis opportunity going forward. It
is a testament to the strength of our organization that we have
identified the right individuals to take on these critical roles
from within our own ranks,” said Michael DeGiglio, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Village Farms.
Ms. Gillin Lefever is an accomplished business,
finance and capital markets executive who served as an external
consultant to Village Farms starting in 2020. In 2022, she joined
the Company as Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, leading
the Company’s communications, strategy, governmental affairs and
capital markets functions. Ms. Gillin Lefever was previously Head
of the Institutional Sales team at Barclays and Senior Equity
Research analyst covering the Consumer Products sector at two Wall
Street firms, where she was the recipient of numerous awards. She
later leveraged this experience as trusted advisor to
organizations on governance and financial strategies.
Ms. Gillin Lefever holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from The
Wharton School. She sits on Georgetown
University McDonough School's Board of Advisors.
Mr. Furfaro joined Village Farms in 2023 as
Senior Vice President, Strategy, leading, amongst other
initiatives, an assessment of international cannabis opportunities
and later assuming leadership of the global medical cannabis
business. Prior to Village Farms, Mr. Furfaro was Vice
President of Operations and Interim President and Chief Executive
Officer at the Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC), Quebec’s
provincial cannabis board, where he was responsible for
creating and implementing the operations infrastructure, oversaw
the opening of 90 dispensaries, and helped grow the sales staff to
over 1000 employees. Prior thereto, Mr. Furfaro was Director of
Business Development for British American Tobacco Canada, where he
was responsible for improving the organization’s performance and
competitiveness. Mr. Furfaro holds an MBA from McGill
University and HEC Montréal and a BCom from Concordia University.
He currently serves as a mentor for McGill University’s Integrated
Management Student Fellowship and is a member of the Circle of
Presidents of Quebec’s Marketing Network.
Dr. Harloe joined Village Farms’ subsidiary,
Balanced Health Botanicals, in 2019 as General Counsel to
participate in the cannabinoid industry opportunity created by
passage of the 2018 Federal Farm Bill. In 2023, he was appointed by
the Governor to Colorado’s Institute of Cannabis Research Governing
Board and he is a member of the International Cannabinoid Research
Society. He previously sat on the SB 22-205 Task Force to advise
the Colorado legislature as to intoxicating hemp and THC products
and the Colorado Hemp Advancement and Management Plan (CHAMP). Dr.
Harloe received his PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, where he spent
five years performing cannabinoid and endocannabinoid research, and
he has co-authored multiple scientific publications. Subsequent to
his scientific studies, Dr. Harloe received his JD from Southern
Methodist University, graduating cum laude. He is a member of the
State Bars of Colorado, Texas, and Oregon, as well as the National
Cannabis Bar Association, and is Vice Chair of the American Bar
Association Cannabis Law and Policy Committee.
About Village Farms International
Village Farms leverages decades of experience as
a large-scale, Controlled Environment Agriculture-based, vertically
integrated supplier for high-value, high-growth plant-based
Consumer Packaged Goods opportunities, with a strong foundation as
a leading fresh produce supplier to grocery and large-format
retailers throughout the US and Canada, and new high-growth
opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in North America,
the Netherlands and selected markets internationally.
The Company's wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary,
Pure Sunfarms, is one of the single largest cannabis operations in
the world, the lowest-cost greenhouse producer and one of Canada’s
best-selling brands. The Company also owns 70% of Québec-based,
Rose LifeScience, a leading third-party cannabis products
commercialization expert in the Province of Québec. Village Farms
ranks as the #2 producer nationally in Canada.
In the US, wholly-owned Balanced Health
Botanicals is one of the leading CBD brands and e-commerce
platforms in the country. Subject to compliance with all applicable
US federal and state laws and stock exchange rules, Village Farms
plans to enter the US high-THC cannabis market via multiple
strategies, leveraging one of the largest greenhouse operations in
the country (more than 5.5 million square feet in West Texas), as
well as the operational and product expertise gained through Pure
Sunfarms' cannabis success in Canada.
Internationally, Village Farms is targeting
selected, nascent, legal cannabis and CBD opportunities with
significant medium- and long-term potential, with an initial focus
on the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. In the Netherlands, it is
the only North American producer to hold one of ten cannabis
licenses in this limited license country.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
As used in this Press Release, the terms
“Village Farms”, “Village Farms International”, the “Company”,
“we”, “us”, “our” and similar references refer to Village Farms
International, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries, and the term
“Common Shares” refers to our common shares, no par value. Our
financial information is presented in U.S. dollars and all
references in this Press Release to “$” means U.S. dollars and all
references to “C$” means Canadian dollars.
This Press Release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act") and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act"), and is subject to the safe harbor created by those
sections. This Press Release also contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
laws. We refer to such forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information collectively as "forward-looking
statements". Forward-looking statements may relate to the Company's
future outlook or financial position and anticipated events or
results and may include statements regarding the financial
position, business strategy, budgets, expansion plans, litigation,
projected production, projected costs, capital expenditures,
financial results, taxes, plans and objectives of or involving the
Company. Particularly, statements regarding future results,
performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities for the
Company, the greenhouse vegetable or produce industry or the
cannabis industry are forward-looking statements. In some cases,
forward-looking information can be identified by such terms as
"can", "outlook", "may", "might", "will", "could", "should",
"would", "occur", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe",
"intend", "try", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue",
"likely", "schedule", "objectives", or the negative or grammatical
variation thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters
that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in
this Press Release are subject to risks that may include, but are
not limited to: our limited operating history in the cannabis and
cannabinoids industry, including that of Pure Sunfarms, Inc. (“Pure
Sunfarms”), Rose LifeScience Inc. (“Rose” or “Rose LifeScience”)
and Balanced Health Botanicals, LLC (“Balanced Health”); the legal
status of the cannabis business of Pure Sunfarms and Rose and the
hemp business of Balanced Health; risks relating to the integration
of Balanced Health and Rose into our consolidated business; risks
relating to obtaining additional financing, including our
dependence upon credit facilities; potential difficulties in
achieving and/or maintaining profitability; variability of product
pricing; risks inherent in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, cannabinoids,
and agricultural businesses; market position; ability to leverage
current business relationships for future business involving hemp
and cannabinoids; the ability of Pure Sunfarms and Rose to
cultivate and distribute cannabis in Canada; existing and new
governmental regulations, including risks related to regulatory
compliance and regarding obtaining and maintaining licenses; legal
and operational risks relating to expected conversion of our
greenhouses to cannabis production in Canada and in the United
States; risks related to rules and regulations at the US federal
(Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of
Agriculture), state and municipal rules and regulations with
respect to produce and hemp, cannabidiol-based products
commercialization; retail consolidation, technological advances and
other forms of competition; transportation disruptions; product
liability and other potential litigation; retention of key
executives; labor issues; uninsured and underinsured losses;
vulnerability to rising energy costs; inflationary effects on costs
of cultivation and transportation; recessionary effects on demand
of our products; environmental, health and safety risks, foreign
exchange exposure, risks associated with cross-border trade;
difficulties in managing our growth; restrictive covenants under
our credit facilities; natural catastrophes; the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic; and tax risks.
The Company has based these forward-looking
statements on factors and assumptions about future events and
financial trends that it believes may affect its financial
condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial
needs. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this
Press Release are based upon assumptions that management believes
are reasonable based on information currently available to
management, there can be no assurance that actual results will be
consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control,
which may cause the Company's or the industry's actual results,
performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities in future
periods to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, among other things, the factors contained in the Company's
filings with securities regulators, including this Press
Release.
When relying on forward-looking statements to
make decisions, the Company cautions readers not to place undue
reliance on these statements, as forward-looking statements involve
significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as
guarantees of future results, performance, achievements, prospects
and opportunities. The forward-looking statements made in this
Press Release relate only to events or information as of the date
on which the statements are made in this Press Release. Except as
required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on
which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
Contact Information
Lawrence ChamberlainInvestor
RelationsLodeRock Advisors(416)
519-4196lawrence.chamberlain@loderockadvisors.com |
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