Management
Clifford Starke
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Starke was previously the Company’s President and a Director beginning in December 2022. Prior to that, Mr. Starke served as the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Franchise Global Health Inc. Since May 2018, Mr. Starke has served as the Chairman of Hampstead Private Capital Ltd., a Bermuda based merchant bank investing in small to mid-cap, high growth companies in various sectors and primarily focused on the medical cannabis industry. Mr. Starke has 18 years of investing and public markets experience and, over the last 10 years, has acted as a financier, investor, and operator of cannabis companies. Mr. Starke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Queen’s University.
Dany Vaiman
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Vaiman was previously the Company’s Senior VP Finance beginning in December 2022. From February 2022 through the closing of the Company’s arrangement with Franchise Global Health Inc., he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Franchise. Prior to that, Mr. Vaiman served as Corporate Controller of Torex Gold Resources Inc. – a leading intermediate gold producer listed on the TSX. Mr. Vaiman’s prior auditing and accounting experience was with Ernst & Young’s Toronto Audit Group, specializing in publicly listed TSX and SEC clients. Mr. Vaiman is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Accountant (CA) in Ontario, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Illinois, and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) from the Schulich School of Business.
Board of Directors
Clifford Starke
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Starke was previously the Company’s President and a Director beginning in December 2022. Prior to that, Mr. Starke served as the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Franchise Global Health Inc. Since May 2018, Mr. Starke has served as the Chairman of Hampstead Private Capital Ltd., a Bermuda based merchant bank investing in small to mid-cap, high growth companies in various sectors and primarily focused on the medical cannabis industry. Mr. Starke has 18 years of investing and public markets experience and, over the last 10 years, has acted as a financier, investor, and operator of cannabis companies. Mr. Starke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Queen’s University.
Edward Woo
Board of Directors
Edward Woo, Starting in August 2021, he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Franchise Global Health. Mr. Woo is a seasoned business executive with extensive experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Woo focused his efforts on the tobacco industry in the areas of sales, trade marketing, business strategy, political mobilization and government affairs. As a former executive at Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc. and Philip Morris International, Mr. Woo held several leadership roles which included serving as Head of Regulatory & External Affairs at the Global Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and as Regional Communications Director Latin America and Canada. Mr. Woo holds a BA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.
Brendan Cahill
Board of Directors
Brendan Cahill is a corporate executive and director with extensive capital markets experience. He was President & CEO of Excellon Resources Inc. from 2012 to 2022, a silver, lead zinc producer in Mexico. Prior to Excellon, Brendan was VP Corporate Development & Corporate Secretary of Pelangio Mines and Pelangio Exploration from 2008 to 2012, and an associate at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada’s preeminent mergers & acquisitions firm from 2005 to 2007. Brendan remains a board member of Excellon and is a board member of Group Eleven Resources, an Irish zinc explorer. He is also a cabinet member of the University Health Network’s Transplant Cabinet and Psychedelic Cabinet and a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Harold Wolkin
Board of Directors
Mr. Wolkin brings over 30 years of progressive experience in the finance sector, having held significant roles in investment banking, including positions at BMO Capital Markets and Dundee Capital Markets. He is the Audit Committee Chair and Vice Chair of the Board at Baylin Technologies Inc. (TSX: BYL), the Lead Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair at Cipher Pharmaceuticals (TSX: CPH), and a Director at BYND Cannasoft Enterprises Inc. (CSE: BYND). Mr. Wolkin holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from York University and a Master of Arts in Economics and Finance from the University of Toronto. He is also a graduate and member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.