WeedMD Appoints Seasoned HR Executive to Chief People Officer
Deborah Sikkema appointed Chief People Officer to lead the Company’s newly-integrated talent, culture and organizational development initiatives
Toronto, Canada, October 20, 2020 – WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) (FSE:4WE) (“WeedMD” or the “Company”), a federally-licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis is pleased to announce the appointment of seasoned human resources (HR) executive Deborah Sikkema as the Company’s Chief People Officer.
A multi-faceted business leader with 20 years of HR experience in some of Canada’s top-tier organizations, such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Canadian Tire, and Holt Renfrew, Deborah is also appointed to WeedMD’s Compensation Committee alongside its Board of Directors (the “Board”).
In addition to Deborah’s appointment, the Company and the Board have also affirmed Stephen Ng as Chief Commercial Officer. He previously held the position of Chief Strategy Officer of WeedMD and Chief Financial Officer of Starseed Medicinal Inc.
“This has been a transformative year for our employees and our industry. Our valued employees are our single greatest resource which defines who we are as a company and under Deborah’s leadership, teams have integrated seamlessly,” said Angelo Tsebelis, CEO of WeedMD.
“We’re thrilled to welcome her as a permanent member of our team as we continue building the business for commercial success. Both Deborah and Stephen are inspirational leaders and strategic thinkers who bring valuable expertise at a critical juncture as we build teams to expand our product offerings and leverage our unique distribution platforms to drive organic growth.”
“WeedMD is known throughout the cannabis sector as an employer of choice committed to developing its talent and communities for continued results in the quality production of innovative products,” said Ms. Sikkema. “Our highly-engaged employees provide us with a sustainable competitive advantage that will take us to the next level of success. I’m proud to be leading our initiatives that marry our core values with our drive to be a model for diversity and inclusion, accountability, and social responsibility, as we foster commercial achievements in this growth stage.”
Prior to permanently joining WeedMD, Deborah spent the previous six months, under consultation, overhauling the Company’s HR department and people strategy. With her guidance, the Company established employee development and goal-setting programs to make WeedMD a ‘living wage’ employer, introduced protocols for business integration and cultural transformation, overhauled its benefits plan to introduce a health spending account with medical cannabis coverage included, and introduced a company-wide shares option plan for all permanent employees. Deborah is a strong proponent of diversity and a member of the Women’s Executive Network and Women of Influence, the Strategic Capability Network, and the London Chamber of Commerce. Deborah holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Industrial Relations from Western University. She is also a Certified Talent Management Practitioner (CTMP) through the CTMP Society of Canada.
About WeedMD Inc.
WeedMD Inc. is the publicly traded parent company of WeedMD RX Inc. and Starseed Medicinal Inc., licence holders producing and distributing cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates a 158-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse, outdoor and processing facility located in Strathroy, ON as well as a fully-licensed 26,000 sq. ft. Aylmer, ON processing facility, specializing in cannabis extraction. With the addition of Starseed, a medical-centric operator, WeedMD has expanded its multi-channeled distribution strategy. Starseed’s industry-first, exclusive partnership with LiUNA, the largest construction union in Canada, along with employers and union groups complements WeedMD’s direct sales to medical patients. The Company maintains strategic relationships in the seniors’ market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart as well, as seven provincial distribution agencies where adult-use brands Color Cannabis and Saturday are sold.
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For further information, please contact:
For Investor Enquiries:
Valter Pinto
Managing Director
KCSA Strategic Communications
1-212-896-1254
weedmd@kcsa.com
For Media Enquiries:
Marianella delaBarrera
VP, Communications & Corporate Affairs
416-897-6644
marianella@weedmd.com
All product images and labels are provided for information and illustrative purposes only, and do not represent the actual cannabis product, product label, or its appearance.
Forward Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon WeedMD's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.
The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to actual production volumes, expectations for future growing capacity and the completion of any capital project or expansions. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of WeedMD to implement its business strategies; the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; crop failure; and other risks.
Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, WeedMD does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for WeedMD to predict all such factors. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in WeedMD's disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR a www.sedar.com. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information.
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