Bridging the Gap: Exploring Potential Links Between Academia and the Medical Cannabis Industry

Paul Rosen (Keynote) is the CEO of 1933 Industries and co-founder of Hellenic Pharma. He is a serial entrepreneur, public speaker, and a pioneer in the global cannabis industry. Over the past seven years, he has held multiple roles as founder, investor and adviser in this emerging industry. Paul is currently the Executive Chairman of Global Go, a consultancy focused on the global regulated cannabis industry. He is also a co-founder and the Chairman of Pantry (@pantryfoodco), a cannabis-focused startup in the functional food market. Previously, Paul co-founded PharmaCan Capital Corp.—now The Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON; TSX: CRON)—and served as its first President and CEO for four years. He has held board positions with a number of cannabis companies, including iAnthus Capital Holdings (IAN.CN), where he chaired the audit committee. Paul is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, and previously practiced constitutional law for a number of years. He received a B.A. in Economics from Western University in 1985 and an LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1988.  Paul has been interviewed by numerous mainstream media outlets, including Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC, Fox Business, BBC Business, Nasdaq TV, Yahoo! Finance, The Economist, The Street, Barrons, National Public Radio, and Cheddar TV. 

John Trougakos (Moderator/Host) is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and HR Management in the Department of Management at University of Toronto Scarborough, with a cross-appointment to the Organizational Behaviour area at the Rotman School of Management. His research explores the dynamics of employees’ daily organizational life, focusing specifically on employee wellbeing and work recovery, emotions and emotional labour, as well as leadership and social interactions.His research has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Organizational Research Methods, and the Journal of Applied Psychology, among others. John is currently the Associate Chair of Research for the Department of Management at U of T Scarborough and serves as a member of the editorial boards for Personnel Psychology and the Journal of Business Psychology. His industry collaborations include Bell Canada, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Staples Corporation, and the Canadian Securities Trader Association, among others. He is also the Director of Research Initiatives for Hellenic Pharma, headquartered in Athens, Greece and Toronto, Canada. 

Terry Taouss (Speaker) is a serial entrepreneur with operational experience in scaling fast-growing businesses. Terry is the co-founder and CEO of Hellenic Pharma, a global manufacturer and distributor of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals. He is also the Chairman of the board of 1933 Industries (CSE: TGIF), a publicly traded cannabis company with licensed operations across multiple states. He has held senior executive and advisory roles with multiple other cannabis companies, both public and private. Prior to his involvement in the cannabis industry, Terry was part of the founding management team at an advertising technology company, which he helped guide to numerous awards and successful acquisition by a U.S. company. He remained with the acquiring company for a number of years and acted as Managing Director of its Canadian operations, which he helped grow to $100MM in annual revenue. Terry is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, and previously practiced corporate law for a number of years. His clients included some of the fastest-growing companies in Canada. Terry received a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Rob Tankson (Speaker) is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and Co-Founder and COO of PrestoDoctor, a leading telemedicine company that connects patients seeking medical cannabis cards with compassionate, licensed doctors across the U.S. With his leadership and vision, PrestoDoctor was acquired by Cannabis Sativa Inc. (OTCQB: CBDS) in August 2017 at an $11mm valuation. Rob currently serves on the board of Cannabis Sativa and as the VP of Operations and is a member of the Minority Business Cannabis Association. Prior to co-founding PrestoDoctor in 2015, Rob worked extensively in the finance and tech industries, including at Google, ClearSlide, and Pacific Wealth Group. While at Google, he managed expense planning, reporting, and analysis for emerging products including Google Chromebook. After Google, Rob went to work on Wall Street as an equity research analyst where he developed a unique forward-looking database to quickly identify changes in industry trends, successfully outperforming the S&P 500 annually. Rob received his BA in Psychology from the University of San Francisco.

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Rishi Malkani (Speaker), Deloitte Partner and Cannabis Practice Leader, has over a decade of experience advising both strategic and financial sponsor clients in a variety of capacities.  Rishi specializes in delivering strategic advice, comprehensive due diligence, buy and sell-side advisory services and deal structuring advice.  Rishi has advised on transactions across a wide range of industries, and has significant depth and experience in the Cannabis sector, insurance (manufacturing and distribution), non-bank lending and structured finance. Rishi regularly advises clients through the entire investment and M&A life cycle, providing innovative transaction solutions and deal insight. Rishi works with a variety of clients in the Cannabis industry, including Licensed Producers, Retailers, Governments and Consumer Packaged Goods companies, including alcohol and tobacco companies. Rishi is a CPA and holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst and Financial Risk Manager qualifications, as well as a Masters of Accounting degree.

Sam Maglio (Speaker) is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management. His research asks how situational cues shape consumer thoughts, feelings, and behaviours while also looking to identify conditions that help people to mentally transcend such contexts. He received his BA in Psychology and English from Stanford University and his PhD in Social Psychology from New York University.

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Ruth Ross (Speaker) obtained a PhD in Pharmacology from The University of Edinburgh in 1990 in the field of prostaglandin receptor pharmacology. She has held graduate and postdoctoral research positions in Discovery Biology at Pfizer in Kent and at Allergan in California. After a five-year career break, Dr Ross returned to research funded by a Wellcome Trust Career Re-Entry Fellowship in 1996 to work on cannabinoid receptor pharmacology. In 2010 she was the inaugural Director of the Kosterlitz Centre for Therapeutics, which focusses on the translation of biological innovation and biology research excellence in University of Aberdeen into novel drug discovery strategies.  Ruth Ross served as Director of the Translational Biology Theme of the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA). In 2012 she relocated to The University of Toronto to take up the position of Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Faculty of Medicine and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH). She is co-Chair of the Neuroscience Catalyst – a partnership to develop new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of mood disorders. She is also Ontario lead for the Clinical Consortium for Cannabinoids in Clinical Practice (CCIC) also co-leads the Toronto Consortium for Cannabinoid and Cannabis Research (TC3). Her research over the last 20 years has been dedicated to understanding the molecular pharmacology of the endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids; focusing on the physiological and pathophysiological role of the endocannabinoid system and understanding the molecular pharmacology of cannabis constituents as this related to safety and efficacy of medical cannabis and the effects of non-medical cannabis.

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Ivan Ross Vrána (Speaker) is widely recognized as an industry expert in the field of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. His experience in this sector dates back to his time with Health Canada when he helped develop the Government of Canada’s position regarding the use, production, distribution and regulation of cannabis for medical purposes. Since that time he has worked as a consultant with H+K Strategies (National Cannabis Practice) were he offered clients counsel and support in investor relations, communications, regulatory review, strategic partnerships, identification and outreach related to market opportunities in other countries such as the United States, Europe and Australia and government affairs work at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. In the Spring of 2019, Ivan Ross joined Eve & Co. and is leading the company’s government relations and business development efforts. Ivan Ross has also written several articles, appeared in the media (television and radio) regarding the cannabis industry and has been a guest speaker at conferences in Canada, The United States, Uruguay and Mexico.

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Sarah Bain (Speaker) has 20 years experience in politics, stakeholder relations and public engagement. She has provided advice to cabinet ministers, Liberal Party of Canada, federal, territorial and municipal governments, and leading corporations and associations, such as Loblaw Companies Ltd., and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.  Since 2015, Sarah has been working predominantly in the cannabis space, with clients such as Nesta Holding Co., National Access Cannabis and Auxly. Prior to that, she was Vice President, Public and Corporate Affairs at Hill+Knowlton where she provided strategic advice regarding medical cannabis and the emerging regime of legalized cannabis. She was registered to lobby the government regarding policies and regulations relating to the distribution of cannabis, and helped her clients understand Health Canada guidelines and the legislative process as Canada moves towards implementation of the Cannabis Act. Sarah continues to be an Associate at Hill+Knowlton. She has served on the boards of Famous5 Ottawa and Women in Communications and Technology (WCT), organizations that promote, engage and inspire women to build networks and achieve leadership in Canada.  Through this volunteer experience, Sarah received the Ontario Government’s Leading Women and Girls Building Communities Award. Sarah holds a Honours Bachelor degree from the University of Ottawa, which included an International Exchange at l’Université de Picardie.  She is presently a student in the Queen’s University, Smith School of Business Executive MBA Program.

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Taigh G. Smyth (Speaker) is the founder of Aedan, a hardware innovation company in the cannabis industry. Previously VP Business Development at Dosist. Led the launch of a break-through marketing campaign, awarded the Marketing Campaign of the Year at the 2018 Canadian Cannabis Awards. Seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in marketing, sales and business development across cannabis, technology and consumer packaged goods.

Daniel Firtel (Speaker) has led top real estate investment and leasing firms in California for over 15 years advising many of the retail industries largest institutional landlords and retailers in connection with expansion plans. He has a multi-billion-dollar track record in retail property acquisitions, dispositions, and leases throughout his career. In Fall of 2018, Daniel decided to venture to the cannabis industry full time launching CannaVentures Advisory Group, a full-service advisory firm servicing the industry, that focused on license acquisitions, dispositions, brand licensing, and commercial real estate. Shortly thereafter he co-founded and launched Cookies Retail where he manages the analysis of opportunities for partnerships, purchases, supply chain, brand expansion, licensing applications, and negotiates purchase and sale agreements for acquisitions.

Scott Neslund (Speaker) Most recently Scott was the Chief Operating Officer of Centro, a $600MM+ ad tech firm based in Chicago with 700 employees, eight regional offices and over 1,200 customers. Scott Neslund joined Centro in 2012 as Executive Vice President of Client Services, overseeing a 300 person digital media services team. Scott has over 25 years of experience leading media and digital agencies in the U.S. with significant global experience in Europe, Asia and North America. He started his career with a 17-year stint at Leo Burnett where he oversaw media campaigns for clients United Airlines and Kellogg's. His international career includes managing the Coca-Cola AOR in Italy, leading the Leo Burnett media department in Japan, and launching the Starcom MediaVest agency in Canada in 1999. In 2002 Scott became President of the StarLink agency in the U.S. which later became Spark Foundry under Publicis Media. From 2005 to 2009 Scott led the WPP media agency Mindshare, first as Managing Director of the Chicago office and then as CEO of North America. He then served as CEO of the digital independent shop Red Bricks Media based in San Francisco and, later as President of Moxie Interactive, a subsidiary of the Publicis Group. Scott is a graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in Telecommunications and the Kellogg School of Management with an M.B.A. in Marketing and International Business. Scott has been a judge for the Cannes Media Lion Awards, the Grand Effie Awards, and a member of the 4A’s Media Policy Committee. Scott has been recognized as a Media Maven from AdAge as well as the publication’s “A-List” for his leadership of Mindshare. Scott currently sits on several media industry Advisory Boards and operates his consulting business, SAN & Associates, focusing on digital marketing, data, and programmatic buying. Scott also teaches a class on Advertising Platforms at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.

David Stepensky (Speaker) is an Associate Professor from the Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. He holds PhD degree from the Dept. of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and received post-doctoral training at the Dept. of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Sciences, Rehovot, Israel and at the Dept. of Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. His primary research interests are analysis of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of pharmacological agents and development of drug delivery systems. He authors over 50 papers and book chapters, and serves as consultant to the Israeli Ministry of Health, pharmaceutical and start-up companies.

Andrew Stark (Speaker) is a Professor of Strategic Management in the Department of Management at the University of Toronto-Scarborough, with cross-appointments to the Strategic Management area at the Rotman School of Management and the Department of Political Science. Andrew draws on normative theory – political, moral and legal theory – to analyze controversial issues of public-private sector interaction. He is the author of: Conflict of Interest in American Public Life (Harvard University Press, 2000), The Limits of Medicine (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Drawing the Line: Public and Private in America (Brookings Institution Press, 2010). His academic articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, among others. He has written op-eds in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post; his essays and reviews have appeared in The New Republic, the Times Literary Supplement, Saturday Night, The Public Interest and other periodicals.

Ron Shalev (Speaker) is an associate professor of accounting at the Department of Management UTSC, and at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, Professor Shalev was an assistant professor at the Stern School of Business, New York University and at Olin Business School, Washington University in St Louis. Prior to that, Professor Shalev held a number of executive positions; the most recent are Chief Financial Officer at Goldnet Communications and Chief Executive Officer at CreditGuard, both in Tel Aviv, Israel. Professor Shalev has earned his PhD from Columbia University and is the academic co-director of the Master of Accounting and Finance program. He has published extensively in multiple areas of accounting and finance. His primary area of expertise is M&As, an area in which he published multiple scholarly articles. Professor Shalev was also involved in multiple M&As as an executive, prior to joining academia. 

Adam Mott (Moderator) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto – Scarborough, where his research focusses on the ways that plants recognize and respond to infection. His lab combines bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, and cell and molecular biology to study the cell surface receptors that plants use to perceive their environment and the network of signaling responses that lie downstream. This research identifies novel immune receptors that can be manipulated in crop species to improve disease resistance.

Jack Whipple (Speaker) is the Founder, CEO of Whipple Effect.  Whipple Effect is a consulting/management firm for indoor commercial cultivation projects.  Founder, CEO of Psychonaut Genetics.  Psychonaut Genetics is a genetics company where we breed new strains of cannabis.  10% of all profits will be donated to MAPs and Heffter.  Founder, CEO of A Sacred Trip.  A Sacred Trip is a non-profit that provides a special blend of cannabis for people to smoke before embarking on a 2 hour long sound journey meditation to heal the body, mind, and soul.  All profits are donated to MAPs and Heffter.

Shelley Lumba (Speaker) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto. Prof. Lumba received her B.Sc. Honours and Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto where she also conducted post-doctoral studies. Dr. Lumba is a leading expert in plant biology and genetics, comparative genomics, and systems biology. She has published in top journals like Science, Nature Plants, Nature Chemical Biology and Developmental Cell and been awarded highly competitive grants from NSERC and New Frontiers in Research Fund based on establishing a superior, highly innovative and original research program. The Lumba group has translated their plant biology expertise to developing molecular diagnostic and genomic tools for cannabis. The aim is to produce certified pure-breeding cannabis varieties with consistent chemical profiles using advanced molecular breeding techniques. In collaboration with cannabis industrial partners, she has been awarded a Mitacs Accelerate and an Ontario Genomics Seed grant to develop a DNA testing kit for cannabis. 

Kai Chi [Sam] Yam (Speaker) is an Associate Professor and Dean’s Chair at the National University of Singapore Business School. Sam’s research focuses primarily on behavioral ethics, leadership, humor, and the future of work. His work has been published in premier journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, British Medical Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Organizational Behavioral and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among other journals. His work has also been covered by numerous media outlets (e.g., Harvard Business Review Blog, The Huffington Post, The Times, Yahoo, etc.). In 2016, he was named by Poets and Quants as one of the Best 40 under 40 Business Professors in the world. Sam received his BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Washington.

Andreas Grammatikogiannis (Speaker) graduated from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) -  School of Civil Engineering with a major in Hydrology. He also holds a MSc in Water Resources Management (top of his class) from NTUA. He was honored during his studies by the Greek Foundation for State Scholarships and gained the “Thomaidian” award. He is the author of scientific articles in international refereed journals and he has presented his research activities in conferences and workshops. He is co-founder of ENCODIA LTD, IVC P.C. and ENCORE P.C., companies active in the field of real estate, investment opportunities and consulting services for design, planning and implementation of technical and development projects and programmes of the public and private sector in Greece and abroad and he speaks English and French. He is a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece, member of the Association of Civil Engineers of Greece (ACEG), member of the Foundation of Greek Hydraulics Consultants, member of the Hellenic Association of Greek Entrepreneurs and former member of the board of directors at the Institute for continuing education of the Technical Chamber of Greece. ENCODIA LTD issued the first (environmental) permit regarding medical cannabis in Greece and during the last two years, the company issued 5 installation permits while more than 10 medical cannabis project are under licensing procedure. 

Nico Hache (Speaker) is a Director within Deloitte’s Risk Advisory business, overseeing cannabis facility advisory, operational optimization and security support services for CCI Deloitte. Nico has gained significant experience in the commercial horticulture industry across Canada. His initial years of working in vegetable, flower, and shrub propagation, eventually led Nico to a position as Head Horticulturalist at J.D. Irving Limited, one of North America’s largest forest seedling companies. Nico has spent the past six years pioneering the legalized cannabis industry. First, by joining one of Canada’s leading licensed producers, Organigram, as Director of Operations during their start-up phase; and later, continuing his pursuit as Director of Cultivation and Security Services at Cannabis Compliance Inc. (CCI). Nico advises industry-leading cannabis companies on leading practices within the cultivation space.

Janice Lam (Speaker) is a Director within Deloitte’s Risk Advisory business, overseeing the firm’s cannabis work in over 20 international markets. She brings over 15 years of global experience working at the intersection of business, innovation, and policy across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Janice has experience in healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer packaged goods, food, and cannabis. She has worked and partnered with a variety of international organizations, including GSK, Novo Nordisk, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Commission, and the World Health Organization, in driving strategic and sustainable investments in complex market and regulatory environments.

Garyfalia Economou (Speaker) is a Professor of Agronomy in the Department of Crop Science at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA).  She earned her PhD in in Agronomy from AUA.  Her research focuses on integrated field crop management (focused on cereals), aromatic and medicinal plants, drought tolerance and assessment of field crops (ecophysiological approach), mitigation of climatic change effects on field crops in Greece and the application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in field crops and weed management. Garyfalia has served as the national representative of Greece in the European Weed Research Society (EWRS) (1999-2015), and is currently a member of Scientific Committee of EWRS (2012 - present) as well as the head of the Weed Mapping Working Group in EWRS (2012- present). She belongs to the Hellenic Scientific Association of Plant Breeding, the International Weed Science society, the European Weed Research Society, the Weed Science Society of Greece, the International Plant Parasitic Society, and the Plant Medicine Society of Greece. Her research is widely published (more than 75 academic publications), she has been awarded funding for over 20 projects, and has worked with a variety of corporate partners.

David Joly (Speaker) is an Associate Professor at the Université de Moncton (New Brunswick), where his team started investigating cannabis in 2015. He has a unique expertise in the field of genomics of plants and their associated microbes, and his work has been cited more than 1000 times. He has secured grants representing over $2.3M, including the TRICHUM project in collaboration with OrganiGram which was funded by Genome Canada, ACOA, NBIF and Mitacs. With two of his colleagues, he created the Cannabis Innovation and Research Centre (CIRC), an UdeM institutional entity devoted to the study of cannabis and cannabinoids, which holds a Health Canada licence to conduct research on cannabis.

Dr. Evan Cole Lewis (Speaker) is a Pediatric Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist with expertise in epilepsy. He is the founder & director of the Neurology Centre of Toronto (NCT). He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Department of Pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. Dr. Lewis has significant clinical experience with medical cannabis in adults and children and has spoken nationally and internationally on the treatment of neurological disorders with cannabis. He is a member of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC), the Cannabinoid Research Initiative of Saskatchewan (CRIS) and the Canadian Childhood Cannabinoid Clinical Trials (C4T) group. He is a contributor and principal applicant on two major Canadian grants in clinical cannabis research and is a co-investigator for an international trial on cannabis in epilepsy with plans to start in 2021. Dr. Lewis is the Chief Medical Adviser for the Jamaican Medical Cannabis Corporation (JMCC). 

Hayley McKay (Speaker) is a graduate student in the Department of Cell & Systems Biology at the University of Toronto where she is studying the genetic mechanisms governing male and female flower development in Cannabis sativa. She is funded by the Mitacs Accelerate program where she is partnered with Metasys Genomics under the supervision of Dr. Shelley Lumba. She earned her Honours B.Sc. from U of T in 2019, where she conducted an undergraduate thesis project on the role of gene expression evolution in the agricultural adaptation of waterhemp in Ontario. In addition to her graduate research, Hayley is a budding science communicator where she writes stories about new, interesting and sometimes controversial science in an effort to engage more people in STEAM.

• 9:00–9:10am   //   Welcome and Opening Remarks (John Trougakos)
   

• 9:10–10:00am   //   Kick-off Panel: Connecting Academia with Industry (Paul Rosen, Rishi Malkani, Ruth Ross, Rob Tankson, Moderator - John Trougakos)
   

• 10:00–11:00am   //  Concurrent Sessions:

• 11:00–11:15am   //   Break
   

• 11:15am–12:00pm   //   Concurrent Sessions

  • Keys to Navigating Government Cannabis Policy (Ivan Ross Vrána, Sarah Bain, Andreas Grammatikoyannis, Moderator - Andrew Stark)

  • The Role of Institute for the Study and Promotion of Medicinal Aromatic Plants. The Case of Cannabis (Garyfalia Economou, Moderator - John Trougakos)       
                           

• 12:00–1:00pm   //   Lunch
   

• 1:00–1:45pm   //   Building a Global Cannabis Brand (Daniel Firtel, Taigh G. Smyth, Scott Neslund, Janice Lam, Moderator - Sam Maglio)
   

• 1:45–2:30pm   //   Challenges to Cannabis Cultivation: Present and Future (Shelley Lumba, Jack Whipple, Nico Hache, David Joly, Adam Mott – Moderator)
   

• 2:30–3:15pm   //   Networking Activities

Themes:

• Building a Global Cannabis Brand (Sam Maglio)
• Legislation and Government Policy (Sarah Bain)
• Plant Science (Adam Mott & Jack Whipple)
• Design and Development of New Cannabis Products (David Stepensky)
• PrestoDoctor - The Journey of a Founder (Rob Tankson)
• Ask a Librarian
   

• 3:15–4:00pm   //   Mergers and Acquisitions in the Global Cannabis Industry (Rishi Malkani, Terry Taouss, Ron Shalev, Rob Tankson, Moderator - John Trougakos)
   

• 4:00–4:15pm   //   Break
   

• 4:15–4:45pm   //   Fireside Chat with Keynote - Paul Rosen (Moderator - John Trougakos)

• 4:45–5:00pm   //   Closing Remarks (John Trougakos)

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