Marijuana Business Magazine April 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2019 114 chief science officer. Before joining the Canadian cannabis firm, Kumar was managing director of Apotex India, a subsidiary of Toronto- based Apotex Pharmaceuticals, Canada’s largest private pharma company. Kumar also held various senior leadership roles with GlaxoSmithKline, including assignments in the United Kingdom, France and Canada. Kumar also has served as president of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences and as a board member of CQDM, the Pharmaceutical Consortium for Drug Discovery Platforms in Montreal.   Viridian Nabs Wall Street M&A Expert Wall Street vet David Kelman joined Viridian Capital Advisors as an invest- ment banker to help lead and execute buy- and sell-side assignments in the firm’s growing M&A practice. He has managed more than 25 M&A trans- actions totaling more than $10 billion at investment banking firms that include Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Changes for InMed Science Team InMed Pharmaceuticals, a fully integrated cannabinoid biopharmaceutical company in Vancouver, British Columbia, that develops disease treatments, announced that Sazzad Hossain , Ph.D., retired as chief scientific officer but joins the firm’s scientific advisory board. Eric C. Hsu , Ph.D., vice president of preclinical research and development, will continue to lead InMed’s scientific R&D programs. Canopy Promotes Patient Advocate Canopy Growth Corp., the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based cannabis giant, promoted its director of patient edu- cation and advocacy, Hilary Black , to chief advocacy officer. Black’s expanded mandate includes driving patient advocacy efforts worldwide, executing Canopy’s global corporate social responsibility strategy and implementing best practices for diversity and inclusion. Maine Marijuana Attorney Makes State Cannabis Board Dan Walker , an attorney with Maine law firm Preti Flaherty, was appointed to Maine’s new Marijuana Advisory Commission, a 15-member panel created to conduct a continuing study of state cannabis laws. The commission’s findings and recom- mendations will be submitted to the state Legislature for consideration on an annual basis. Walker is chair of Preti Flaherty’s Cannabis Business and Government Affairs practice groups. His practice focuses on regulatory issues and advocating for clients before state and federal governmental agencies. New Cannabis Law Group Attorney Marc Ross of New York- based law firm of Sichenzia Ross Ference launched a cannabis practice. Ross is a recognized cannabis expert and also an adjunct law professor at Hofstra University School of Law, currently in his fifth year of teaching one of the first classes in the United States dealing with marijuana and businesses. Ross is joined by two other partners and two associates in the new practice group, which will provide cannabis firms with services in entity formation, corporate and securities matters, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions, government regulations and financing. Canna-centric PR Firm Expands Grasslands, a cannabis-focused com- munications firm, appointed public relations vet Sarah Thorson to lead its PR division. Thorson previously served as account director at 10Fold Communications, a B2B agency focused on the technology sector. While there, she launched the agen- cy’s Denver regional office, developed marketing and communications initiatives for global companies and managed more than $1 million in account revenue. In her new role, Thorson directs all PR strategy and execution for Grasslands’ clients. Executive Changes at Concentric Ag Donald Marvin is stepping down as CEO of Concentric Ag, a company in Centennial, Colorado, that develops biological and plant nutrient inputs, to become executive chair of its board of directors. Marvin, who joined Concentric (formerly known as Inocu- cor) in 2014, will continue as interim CEO until a permanent CEO is named. Executive search firm Hobbs & Towne is conducting the search. Concentric also appointed Jarrett Chambers as executive vice president of marketing and sales as well as chief commercial officer. Chambers is an expert in the interaction of nutrients and the integration of metabolites and bioactivators in plant physiology. He co-founded ATP Nutrition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Concentric and one of the largest plant nutrient suppliers in Canada. Hired or promoted someone for a senior-level position? Send a news release or general information to omars@mjbizdaily.com. David Kelman Courtesy Photo Industry Players | New Hires & Promotions