CANNABIS

Mr. Neil Closner was the Founder, CEO, and a Director of MedReleaf Corp., Canada’s premier medical cannabis producer. He was the key driver behind the company’s growth and entrepreneurial vision, overseeing all general management for the organization and strategic leadership. MedReleaf was founded in 2013 and grew to be the largest producer of medical cannabis in Canada and was sold in 2018 to Aurora Cannabis for $3.2 billion.

Alison is a veteran of the Canadian cannabis industry, bringing unique experience and relationships to her role as Chief Executive Officer of 48North. A skilled marketer, she is celebrated for her ability to shift public opinion and consumer behaviour and has been named one of Canada’s Top 10 Marketers by Marketing magazine.

As co-founder of Rethink Breast Cancer, Alison is credited with growing a new generation of young breast cancer supporters, compelled by her groundbreaking communication and pharmaceutical expertise in the healthcare realm. Today, Alison is applying her skills to 48North’s business plan in this new era of the cannabis industry. In 2018 she was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Cannabis Canada Council.

Eric Paul is the former CEO of CannTrust and now serves as the Chairman of the Board and Special Advisor to CannTrust’s management team. Mr. Paul has served as CEO, President, and principal in a number of Canadian corporations, including one of Canada’s largest retailers, a national mail order pharmacy, a hospital medication management software system purchased by a Fortune 500 company, a home healthcare provider of nursing and personal support services, a medical equipment manufacturer. Mr. Paul was responsible for creating one of Canada’s first major consumer loyalty programs and understands the importance of the customer promise.

Rebecca Brown is the founder of Crowns, a full-service consultancy for the global cannabis industry. Crowns is writing the playbook for cannabis marketing and designing solutions to grow cannabis brands within the constraints of regulation. Rebecca has a decades-long career in marketing and advertising, with a track record of innovation and building new scalable agency models. She was most recently the vice president of social media and content at J. Walter Thompson.
She is a frequent keynote speaker, awards jurist (Effies, Agency of the Year), marketing instructor (Miami Ad School, Sheridan College), and contributing writer (Applied Arts, Strategy). Rebecca is also a trusted thought leader on all things cannabis and marketing. From the Economist and the Financial Post to the Business of Cannabis and Vice to the CBC and BNN Bloomberg, she regularly appears in print, online and broadcast media to discuss the cannabis industry, customer experience, marketing trends, brand building, growth hacking, and the need for diversity in cannabis leadership.

Alan Gertner is the Managing Director of Retail for Canopy Growth and Managing Director of Hiku, a portfolio of premium cannabis brands, including Tokyo Smoke, Van der Pop, DOJA and Maitri. A lover of technology, design and everything in-between, before Canopy Alan led a $+100M organization at Google in Asia. Alan is a proven leader in strategy and operations, including as a founding member of Google's first Global Business Strategy team while based in Mountain View, California.

Mike Lickver is the Chief Strategy Officer of Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSX-V:XLY), a vertically integrated Canadian cannabis company. Prior to joining Auxly, Mike was a corporate and commercial lawyer at a large international Bay Street law firm where he co-founded the cannabis practice in 2013 and helped grow it into a global leader. As one of Canada’s leading advisors in the cannabis industry he has represented a variety of global industry participants and has played a key role in a wide variety of domestic and international corporate and commercial transactions since the inception of the cannabis industry in Canada. Mike speaks frequently at conferences across the globe on topics related to the cannabis industry and, a frequent author to the industry, is also the Canadian Editor of the International Cannabis Law Journal. Mike is also an adjunct professor at Western Law where he teaches “Cannabis Law and Practice”, a course he designed and developed and the first of its kind in Canada. Mike also sits on the board of directors of Dixie Brands, Inc., the Arts and Culture Committee for the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and has previously acted as a director for various not-for-profits and privately held cannabis companies.
Mike earned Law (J.D.) and MBA degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the Ric.

Aaron is the Founder and Principal of Stoic Advisory Inc. Prior to founding Stoic, Aaron was an Investment Analyst at Interward Asset Management, a specialist investment firm based in Toronto. While there, he played an active role in capital allocation, including investments in the cannabis sector. Prior to Interward, Aaron spent over four years at Dundee Capital Markets (now Eight Capital), starting as a Research Associate before moving on as an Analyst covering medical & recreational cannabis companies.