Prohibition Partners LIVE: Speakers
See our ever growing list of influential speakers appearing at Prohibition Partners LIVE between 17-20 November.
Click on the relevant speakers image for full bio.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry; University of New Mexico School of Medicine
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Previous speakers
A selection of some of the brilliant speakers from previous Prohibition Partners LIVE events.
Kelis
Grammy-Nominated Performer & Netflix Presenter "Cooked with Cannabis"
Kelis is a multi-platinum, Grammy nominated artist, fasthion icon and entrepreneur. Kelis is also a host of the new Netflix show "Cooked with Cannabis" alongside longtime cannabis chef Leather Storrs, and sees three weed-savvy chefs competing in a three-course battle for $10,000. Kelis is an accomplished chef herself, graduating from Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, and has been experimenting with cannabis-infused food. She plans to release her first cookbook "My Life on a Plate" next year.
Founder, Think BIG
CJ Wallace is a social entrepreneur, actor, musician, and founder of Think BIG, a creative studio and health-and-wellness company that challenges humankind to discover how botanicals can be used as tools for creativity and healing. Think BIG started with CJ Wallace’s search to understand his responsibility to the legacy of his late father, Christopher George Latore Wallace, also known as The Notorious B.I.G.
Kim Rivers
CEO, Trulieve Cannabis Corp
Kim Rivers serves as chief executive officer of Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a vertically integrated "seed-to-sale" operation based in Florida. Rivers joined Trulieve at its inception and has been the key driver for the Company’s customer-centric vision, strong growth, strategic expansion, and industry-leading profitability. She presided over the creation of Trulieve’s Florida dispensary network and developed its marketing program. She led a successful effort to raise capital in coordinating the effort to sell Trulieve shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
David Crosby
Grammy Award Winning Musician & Cannabis Entrepreneur
Music icon David Crosby, founding member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Byrds has been at the forefront of rock stardom for five decades. The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist, activist, author, national advisory board member of NORML (and now cannabis entrepreneur) has sold more than 35 million albums. Crosby credits cannabis with being a creative influence on all the songs he’s written. One of the most recognizable faces on the planet, Crosby (or “Croz” as his friends call him) recently developed a cannabis strain called “Mighty Croz” which will soon be introduced to the world.
Professor David Nutt
Director of Neuropharmapsychology, Imperial College London & Former Chief Drugs Advisor to the UK Government
David Nutt is a leading Neuroscientist and drug policy reform advocate. Formerly the Chief Drug Advisor to the UK government he is currently the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and director of the unit in the Division of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London. He has published over 400 original research papers, 8 government reports on Drugs and 28 books. He is currently the President of the European Brain Council and Founding Chair of DrugScience (formerly the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD).
Steve DeAngelo
'Father of the Cannabis Industry', Chairman & Co-Founder, Harborside Inc
Steve DeAngelo is a pioneering cannabis entrepreneur, activist, author, and on-screen personality. He co-founded several iconic cannabis businesses and organizations: Harborside, one of the first six dispensaries licensed in the US; Steep Hill Laboratory, the first dedicated cannabis lab; the ArcView Group, the first cannabis investment firm; and the National Cannabis Industry Association, the industry’s first trade association. He currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of Harborside Inc., a vertically integrated California cannabis company.
João Castel-Branco Goulão
National Drugs and Alcohol Coordinator, Portugal
João is the Portuguese National Drugs and Alcohol Coordinator and Director General of the Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies General Directorate (SICAD), the body within the Health Ministry responsible harm prevention and drugs policy. Previously, he was Chairman of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) from 2009 to 2015. A former medical doctor João was instrumental in developing "The drug strategy", which famously decriminalized drugs in 2000.
Amanda Feilding
Director, Beckley Foundation
Amanda Feilding is dubbed the ‘hidden hand' behind the renaissance of psychedelic science and drug policy reform globally. She is Director of the Beckley Foundation, a UK-based think tank and UN-accredited NGO, which she founded in 1998. Its chief objectives are studying the mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness and reforming global drug policy.
Through the Scientific Programme, Amanda orchestrates collaborations with leading scientists worldwide, investigating cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, Ayahuasca, DMT and MDMA.
Dr Ben Sessa
Chief Medical Officer, Awkn Life Sciences
Dr Ben Sessa is one of the world’s leading researchers into the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs in a clinical or therapeutic setting. As a medical doctor, he provides psychiatric consultation while his research focuses on psychopharmacology with psychedelic medicines and MDMA therapy for mental disorders. Dr Sessa is also a co-founder and chair of the influential Breaking Convention conference, held annually in London. He has published widely in medical and academic journals, presents regularly on multimedia platforms, facilitates workshops and is a published author of fiction. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol and Imperial College London.
Founder & Former CEO, Canopy Growth
Founder & former Chairman, CEO and co-CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) formerly Tweed Marijuana Incorporated, a cannabis company based in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada. Bruce founded Tweed in 2013 and renamed it Canopy Growth Corporation in 2015. Canopy Growth Corporation was the first cannabis company in North America to be listed on a major stock exchange (TSX-V in April 2014 and TSX in July 2016) and to be included on a major stock index.
Liz Shanahan
Director, UDG Healthcare
Liz Shanahan is recognised as a global leader in Healthcare and Lifesciences. An eminent speaker and serial entrepreneur, Liz sold her first business, a specialist healthcare & LifeScience communication consultancy, to the management consultancy, FTI, where she then became Global Head of Healthcare & Lifesciences for a number of years. As one of the sector’s most experienced counsels she continues to advise CEOs in many of the world’s leading organizations. Her clients have included the World Health Organisation, the World Economic Forum, the NHS, GSK, Boots, Pfizer and Novartis.
Rick Doblin
Founder and Executive Director, MAPS
Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Founded in 1986, MAPS is a non-profit research and educational organization that has been revolutionary in supporting the development of medical, legal, and cultural frameworks for cannabis and psychedelics. He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and his undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment.
Professor Matthew W. Johnson
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
Professor Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D, is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Johns Hopkins. He is one of the world’s most published scientists on the effects of psychedelics, and has conducted seminal research in the behavioral economics of drug use, addiction, and risk behavior. Working with psychedelics since 2004, Dr. Johnson published psychedelic safety guidelines in 2008, helping to resurrect psychedelic research. As Principle Investigator he published the first research on psychedelic treatment of tobacco addiction in 2014.
Codie Sanchez
Managing Director, Entourage Effect Capital
Codie Sanchez is a reformed journalist, turned institutional investor to now a Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital, a private equity firm focused specifically on investing in the legalised cannabis industry. Since its inception in the summer of 2014, EEC has deployed $100+ million into over 40 companies out of its two dedicated funds and co-investments. She is a board member at The Arcview Group, Magma Partners Venture Fund, Texans for Veterans and a member of the free markets think tank, AEI's Enterprise Club. She also sits on the policy board of the Marijuana Policy Project.
Ana Dutra
CEO, Mandala Global
Ana Dutra is an experienced Corporate Board Director of publicly traded and private global corporations. She was the CEO of The Executives' Club, a 112 year-old world-class senior executives organization focused on innovation, technology, Diversity & Inclusion and leadership development for Boards and top leaders.
Jason White
CMO, Curaleaf
Jason White has 20 years of experience as an award-winning marketing professional and built a highly acclaimed career creating culture-shaping ideas for Fortune 100 companies. Prior to Select, Mr. White was the Global Head of Marketing for Beats by Dre, which was acquired by Apple in 2014. He also served as Managing Director at Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai for lead client Nike as they prepared for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and as Global Account Director on Nike at Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Oregon, developing campaigns for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods. He is currently a board member at The Initiative, Marcus Graham Project and the digital lab Chinatown Bureau, as well as founder and board member of Possible Plan.
Managing Director, European Industrial Hemp Association
Lorenza is the Managing Director of EIHA. Based in EIHA’s Brussels office, Lorenza is a veteran policy advisor and communication manager at the European level. She has led EIHA’s efforts in Brussels since February 2019, having worked with a number of MEPs to propose reforms affecting hemp in the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy. Lorenza previously advised interests in the oil and gas sector, and led the European Association of Independent Winegrowers.
David Champion
CEO, Maya Health
David Champion is CEO of Maya Health, a Colorado Public Benefit Corporation that believes the world of psychedelic medicine needs better data to surface best practices and help practitioners to offer safe and effective practices at scale. He recently served as a campaign lead in the Decriminalize Denver Initiative, helping Denver become the first US city to reform psilocybin policy and was a Co-founder and CPO at Baker Technologies, the leading CRM for the cannabis industry, helping dispensaries generate more revenue and build relationships with their customers in one easy-to-use platform.
JR Rahn
Founder, MindMed
JR is a former Silicon Valley tech executive & Founder of MindMed, the psychedelic medicine business he launched after realising that transformational solutions to mental illness and addiction might lie within psychedelics. He spent 2 years researching and began personally investing in psychedelic research through his investment company. JR partnered with drug development veteran Stephen Hurst to start MindMed in 2019, assembling a leading clinical drug discovery and development team with vast experience conducting clinical trials and research on drug candidates derived from psychedelics.
Ben Quirin
MD, Canopy Growth APAC
Ben Quirin joined the Canopy Growth family in late 2017, tasked with establishing the Asia-Pacific headquarters of the company’s international medical brand, Spectrum Therapeutics, in Victoria, Australia. From his 18 years in the technology space, Quirin brings with him a wealth of experience opening and developing emerging markets. He has been responsible for establishing new markets across Europe, Middle East and Africa, South East Asia and Australia.
Robert Galarza
CEO, TruTrace
Robert Galarza is CEO of TruTrace Technologies,Inc - who have developed the first integrated blockchain platform called StrainSecure that registers and tracks intellectual property for the cannabis industry. Strain protection and genetic identification are major issues for growers and breeders, and this new technology allows them to identify and secure rights to their valuable intellectual property (IP).
Social Entrepreneur & Co-Founder, Think BIG
Willie is co-founder of Think BIG, where he serves as the company’s president and leads its executive management and strategic vision. He became involved with the company when CJ Wallace, founder of Think BIG, was his client at Flint Studio. Willie was drawn to the company because he shares CJ’s vision of removing the stigma associated with cannabis use, both for healing and to stimulate creativity. Willie has used cannabis to inspire his creativity for most of his adult life. He credits it with driving his photography and his work on creative campaigns for global brands.
Ulla Haaning Singapuri
Chief Strategy Officer, KannaSwiss
Ulla serves as Chief Strategy Officer at KannaSwiss. Ulla has a background in consumer marketing from The Coca-Cola Company, global product strategy from Jabra and business development from the compassionate use medicines area. This provides a solid foundation for navigating commercial and regulatory challenges in the international cannabis space. Currently Ulla’s focus is to broaden the international footprint of KannaSwiss and to launch kannaswiss.com in Asia and the US.
Todd Shapiro
CEO, Red Light Holland
Todd Shapiro, after being a top rated Radio Show host & a brilliant
Marketing Entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience, has recently moved on from mainstream media to concentrate his efforts on being the CEO of Red Light Holland.
Shapiro also has an incredible history as one of North America's most professional & effective Brand Ambassadors and Influencers having worked with Canopy Growth, Samsung, Canada Goose, Canadian Tire & Boveda Inc.
Chris Tofu MBE
Producer, Glastonbury Festival (Shangri La)
Established in 1995 DJ Chris Tofu has become a pioneer of Vintage Remix and the UK Festival scene, sharing his obsession with all things remixed and raucous with jumping crowds across the globe. From Glastonbury to Istanbul this musical maverick is constantly exploring, discovering and creating new sounds and new experiences. Tofu has two lives; as a world renowned DJ and as the programmer and director of thousands of events and artists in some of the most legendary clubs and festival stages and even whole festivals, providing him with the canvas to try all these crazy new remixed discoveries.
Charlie Webster
Broadcaster & Journalist, BBC
Charlie is an experienced broadcaster and journalist across both TV and Radio. She has worked globally for major TV networks, events, and brands. She is a regular on BBC 5live radio and hosts a slot on Chiles on Friday, she is also reporting and producing a feature for BBC Radio 4. She has covered major events from Wimbledon, London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, America's Cup, World Cup's and World's Strongest Man. She spent 6 years at Sky and through her her advocacy and advisory roles she regularly appears on BBC's Question Time Extra Time, C4 news, and BBC Breakfast.
Noah Potter
Principal, Legal Market Strategies
Noah has been a psychedelic law reform advocate since joining the ibogaine legalization movement in the early 1990s. In 2010 he coined the term "psychedelic law" when he founded his blog, New Amsterdam Psychedelic Law, to describe the type of legal analysis and law practice that are necessary to effectuate psychedelic policy change. From May to September 2018 he advised the Decriminalize Denver campaign and assisted in formulating the language of the mushroom decriminalization ballot initiative that the Denver Board of Elections accepted. Based in New York City, he is the principal of Legal Market Strategies and is of counsel to the Hoban Law Group, a Denver-based international cannabis business boutique law firm.
Alex Halperin
Founder, WeedWeek
Alex Halperin is the founder, editor and publisher of WeedWeek. Before he started covering marijuana legalization in 2014 he reported on topics such as fracking, health care, technology and finance. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Slate, Fast Company, Quartz, the Washington Post, Mother Jones, the New Yorker, and many other publications. His first book, the Cannabis Dictionary was published in March. He lives in Los Angeles.
Kacey Culliney
Editor, Cosmetics Design Europe
Kacey Culliney is a leading media voice in the European beauty & personal care sector. An experienced journalist and editor with 8+ years in the B2B world, Kacey kickstarted her career in food and nutrition, chairing roundtables and leading video coverage for the industry's most influential events. Kacey brings with her a wealth of knowledge around all-things-consumer, a deep interest in scientific research and development and a solid understanding on how the fast-paced consumer products industry operates.
Ricardo Baptista Leite
Member of Parliament, Portugal
Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite, MP, MD, PhD(c) is a Member of the Portuguese Parliament, where he is a member of the Health Committee, coordinator of the Foreign Affairs Committee, member of the Group on Population and Development and Chair of the all-party HIV/AIDS workgroup. Dr. Leite is currently Head of Public Health at the Institute of Health Sciences of the Catholic University of Portugal and he is also Guest Lecturer at NOVA Medical School (NOVA University, Lisbon). At the NOVA Information Management School (NOVA University), he is the coordinator of the unit on Sustainable Healthcare.
Founder & CEO, MAZAKALI
Sumit is an investment banker and the founder of MAZAKALI, a digital platform for cannabis investing supported by a licensed broker/dealer. A globally recognized cannabis strategist, Sumit authors the MAZAKALI GreenPaper® - a leading narrative that has gained authority on deep trends in the industry. In addition to his role at MAZAKALI, Sumit serves on the Banking and Financial Services Committee for the National Cannabis Industry Association.
Debra Borchardt
Co-Founder & CEO, Green Market Report
Debra Borchardt is the Co-Founder and CEO of the cannabis financial news website Green Market Report. She began her career in the securities industry where she was a Vice President at Bear Stearns holding three securities licenses. She left Wall Street to earn her Masters Degree in Business and Economic Reporting from New York University. At that point, she embarked on a career as a financial journalist and spent eight years at TheStreet.com working daily with Jim Cramer.
Albert Tio
President, Federation of Self-Regulated Cannabis Associations of Catalonia
Albert is the Founder of Airam (Associació Independent Recreativa d'Autoconsum i Medicinal); one of the first cannabis clubs in Barcelona, and President of Fedcac, one of two Catalan federations of consumer associations. Persecuted and intervened on six occasions, intervention resulted in six trials, three of which ended with prison terms and million dollar fines for those involved. Albert has started a model of social and cultural activities pushing towards political changes such as the Catalan law, approved by Catalan Parliament in 2017.
Khalid Tinasti
Executive Secretary, Global Commission on Drug Policy
Khalid Tinasti is the Executive Secretary of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. He also serves as a Visiting Fellow at the Global Studies Institute at the University of Geneva. Before joining the Global Commission’s Secretariat as a Policy Analyst in 2013, he worked as an independent consultant for UNAIDS, WHO, the Graduate Institute and others. Prior to that, Khalid worked as a Press and Communications Officer in the office of the Minister of Urban Cohesion in France, and as an Administrative Officer in Gabon. Khalid holds a PhD in political science from the Institut Catholique de Paris, and conducted his postdoctoral research at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland).
Lynsey Hooper
Broadcaster & Journalist, BBC
Lynsey Hooper has been working as a sport broadcaster in TV and Radio for 12 years for networks including BBC, ITV, Sky Sports, Eurosport, BT Sport, TalkSPORT and IMG. Predominantly working as a football reporter, which has involved covering two World Cups and 7 Premier League seasons, Lynsey has also reported from the London 2012 & Rio 2016 Olympics and presented a World Sailing Tour in 2012. She co-founded the only all female fronted football podcast The Offside Rule in 2012 and it has since amassed over half a million listens and has won industry recognition.
Founding Partner, New Cannabis Ventures
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management.
Ronan Levy
Co-Founder & Exec Chairman, Field Trip Psychedelics Inc
An entrepreneur and a visionary, Ronan is Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Field Trip Psychedelics Inc. Concurrent with his work at Field Trip, he is a partner at Grassfed Ventures, a venture capital and advisory firm focused on the cannabis and biotech industries and a Member of the Board of Directors for Trait Biosciences Inc., a leading biotech company in the hemp and cannabis industries. Prior to his current roles, Ronan co-founded Canadian Cannabis Clinics and CanvasRx Inc., the latter of which was acquired by Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) in 2016, after which he served as Senior Vice President, Business and Corporate Affairs for Aurora.
Insights & Reports Director, Prohibition Partners
Alexandra is Head of Insights at Prohibition Partners, the world¹s leading provider of market insights and strategic consultancy for the emerging cannabis industry. Alexandra's market research experience was gained in Euromonitor and Mintel and she also acted as a consultant to clients across varied industries. Alexandra leads the insights and analytics team and is responsible for the research, writing and publication of Prohibition Partners' industry-first reports across a range of newly emerging cannabis markets.
Piernicola Pedicini
Member of the European Parliament
Piernicola Pedicini is an Italian politician and member of the European Parliament since 2014. He is a member of the Committee on Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and a substitute member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. He was one of the co-sponsors of the Resolution on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes voted in the European Parliament in February 2019. From 2008 to 2014, he worked as Medical Physicist at the Department of Radiation Oncology of the Institute for cancer treatment and research (IRCCS) CROB in Rionero in Vulture, Potenza
Narbé Alexandrian
President and CEO, Canopy Rivers
Narbe Alexandrian is the President and CEO of Canopy Rivers, the venture capital arm of Canopy Growth, the largest cannabis producer worldwide. The fund has a diversified portfolio of cannabis industry investments that includes licensed producers, cultivation & sale applicants, pharmaceutical formulators, branded developers & distributors, and technology & media platforms. With a typical cheque size of $500K to $40M, Canopy Rivers is a lifecycle investor, with the ability to lead and write a cheque in both early stage and late stage cannabis companies.
Jeanne M. Sullivan
General Partner, Arcview
Jeanne Sullivan is General Partner at The Arcview Group, the leading cannabis investment and market research network. She is passionate about delivering ideas, connections and inspiration to entrepreneurs and is a fierce advocate for legalization and regulation of the cannabis industry. Jeanne is a co-founder of StarVest Partners, a venture capital firm in NYC and long-time tech investor, now a special advisor to her firm. Prior to her investing experience, Jeanne served in operating roles at AT&T and Bell Labs as part of an entrepreneurial team building innovative products in image processing and high end computing.
Co-Founder & CEO, ATAI Life Sciences
Florian is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of ATAI Life Sciences, a global biotech company builder with the vision of ultimately ending mental health disorders. Prior to joining ATAI, Florian was the co-founder and Managing Director of Springlane, Germany’s leading online kitchen appliance retailer.
Although Florian suffered from anxiety in his youth, he was able to achieve remission through a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and a robust meditation practice.
Co-Founder and Former CEO, The Cronos Group
Paul Rosen was a co-founder of PharmaCan Capital Corp (now The Cronos Group) and served as President and CEO for three and a half years. He is the founder and Managing Director of BreakWater Venture Capital, a private venture capital fund and advisory based in Toronto. Paul is also the founder, CEO and Chairman of Tidal Royalty Corporation, a financing business focused exclusively on the emerging regulated US cannabis industry.
Steph Sherer
President and Director of Innovations, ICCI
Steph Sherer is ICCI’s President and Director of Innovations, Founder and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, and founding member of International Medical Cannabis Patients Coalition (IMCPC). Steph has become the foremost international leader and expert on medical cannabis patient advocacy and, alongside the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), has created the first industry standards in the areas of distribution, cultivation, analytics, manufacturing, packaging, and labelling.
Founder, Audiobooks.com
Sanjay Singhal is a Canadian Tech Entrepreneur and author, is best known for founding and selling Audiobooks.com. Sanjay has recently launched the Singhal Health Foundation, funding research trials in Canada, the UK, and US that use novel compounds such as MDMA and psilocybin to treat mental disorders, including anorexia, depression, and PTSD. His Memoir “Zero to Tesla,” published in 2018 chronicles his entire journey and shines light on how failure doesn’t prevent success, it only delays it.
Jeremy Berke
Senior Reporter, Business Insider
Jeremy is a senior reporter at Business Insider where he focuses on the emerging cannabis industry. At BI, Jeremy has covered the bumpy roll-out of Canada's cannabis legalisation, the boom in cannabis companies going public in 2018 (and the resulting fallout), multi billion-dollar mergers between cannabis companies and corporations from other industries, the ongoing health effects from vaporisers, the mislabelling of CBD products, and how the world's largest financial, legal, and political institutions are reacting to and planning for legalisation.
Amber Moore
Senior Researcher, Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group
Senior Researcher @ Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group.
Amber leads the CDPRGs review of international cannabis policies. The CDPRG was formed by Conservative MP, Crispin Blunt, a policy forum aiming to bring the drug policy debate into the political mainstream by providing a Centre-Right voice in the national drug policy debate. Amber is also the co-author of 'The UK Review of Medicinal Cannabis: The Needs of a Nation' (2020) and 'Public Attitudes to Drugs in the UK 2019: is the UK ready for drug policy reform?'
Crispin Blunt
Member of Parliament, UK
Crispin Blunt is the Conservative MP for Reigate, and has been an MP continuously since 1 May 1997. Crispin is the former Minister for Prisons and Youth Justice and is a supporter of legalising cannabis to tackle the negative effects of its prohibition on British society. In 2019, he officially unveiled the 'Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group', which aims to secure greater access to medicinal cannabis and to explore evidence on licensing the drug for recreational use.
Jonathan Nadler
Group Managing Director, LYPHE GROUP
Since founding his first £1m+ revenue business aged 24, Jon has gone on to successfully exit a strategic consultancy, and a CBD oils company. Co-founding a market leading online education platform, The Academy of Medical Cannabis, was the catalyst to securing a Partner role at European Cannabis Fund, ECH. Currently Jon is Group Managing Director at LYPHE GROUP with a portfolio of 6 cannabis companies including the UK’s largest chain of private clinics.
Dr. Roger McIntyre
CEO, Champignon Brands
Dr. Roger McIntyre is currently CEO of Champignon Brands, a human optimization sciences Company with an emphasis on ketamine and psychedelic medicine. Dr. McIntyre is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. Dr. McIntyre is also Executive Director of the Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation in Toronto; Director and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) in Chicago, Illinois.
Bob Hoban
President and Founder, Hoban Law Group
Bob Hoban is the Managing Partner at Hoban Law Group, the nation’s premier cannabusiness law firm, with attorneys in over a dozen states and abroad. Bob is recognised as one of the leading commercial cannabis practitioners nationwide; representing private and publicly-held clients in numerous states and abroad. He has litigated nearly every aspect of Colorado’s Marijuana Code and has closed over 300 marijuana-related business transactions. Marijuana and hemp-based business operations, related litigation and regulatory counsel are his specialty.
Bill Wirtz
Senior Policy Analyst, Consumer Choice
Bill Wirtz is the senior policy analyst for the Consumer Choice Center, based in Brussels, Belgium. Originally from Luxembourg, he publishes in German, French, and English. His work has appeared major news outlets, including Newsweek, Washington Examiner, Die Welt, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Le Soir, Les Echos or City AM.
Joanna Pélissier
Co-Founder & CEO, BeCann
Canadian citizen and French resident, Joanna has a rich international business background. She is co-founder and CEO of Be Cann, a French company specialised in the R&D and production of cannabinoid cosmetics and wellness products. Be Cann's activities also include organic hemp cultivation, certified raw materials trade, consulting and EU investment. Striving to help create a healthy, professional and sustainable legal cannabis industry in France and Europe, Joanna works closely with emerging brands, educators and scientists across the globe.
Deepak Anand
Co-Founder & CEO at Materia
Mr. Anand has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the global cannabis industry. He is a public speaker and is regularly engaged with Canadian and International media on all subjects related to the Cannabis industry. Mr. Anand holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and Management from Vancouver Island University. He is a recognized thought leader and brings 15 years of leadership experience in the health, charitable/non-profit, and private sectors in Canada.
Tom Zuber
Founder and Managing Partner, Zuber Lawler
Tom Zuber is Founder and Managing Partner of Zuber Lawler, a leading law firm that specialises in helping cannabis companies navigate legal waters as the industry continues to grow. He has advised some of the most iconic companies in the world on their patent and trademark portfolios and is at the cutting edge of cannabis patent and trademark law. Tom holds a law degree from Columbia Law School, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Government School, and a biomedical engineering degree from Rutgers University.
Iris Hardewig
Director of Scientific Affairs, Sanity Group
Iris is Director of Scientific Affairs at the Sanity Group. Founded in 2018, Sanity Group has become one of Europe's leading medical cannabis firms, raising €20.1 million at the beginning of 2020. Iris has been instrumental to that growth. After receiving her PhD in animal physiology at the Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, she spent several years in academic science. For more than 10 years, Iris has supported the natural health industry in product development and market access as Head of Consulting and Strategic Innovation at analyze & realize in Berlin.
Joshua Otten
CEO, Ronin Content
As the CEO of Ronin Content where he developed, produced and creatively directed 18 different shrives and shows across a variety of formats on more than 18 networks and platforms. Via partnerships on Postmedia, Dailymotion and Pluto TV, content was distributed on proprietary channels of AppleTV, Roku and Amazon Prime. He also discovered new talent, developed original IP and helped launch the world’s first cannabis-focused, content-driven shopping platform, the Stash Shopping Network. As the Head of Brand Marketing Strategies, Joshua worked directly with various U.S. and Canadian cannabis and hemp companies to develop brand marketing strategies including: 22Red, CannTrust, Canopy Growth, Moxie, Precision Extraction, DNA Genetics, Greenland Holdings, Défoncé, MagicalButter and many more.
Jameson Berkow
Cannabis Policy Correspondent, Forbes Magazine
Jameson Berkow joined cannabis venture capital firm Canopy Rivers in early 2020 and holds the post of the founding editor-in-chief of The Rise, a new media outlet covering entrepreneurship in legal cannabis markets globally. Prior to this, Jameson was a reporter for The Globe and Mail, covering the economic implications of cannabis legalization. With more than a decade of experience in financial journalism, Jameson was most recently the senior reporter for BNN Bloomberg (formerly the Business News Network), where he led live daily coverage of major business news from the television station’s Toronto headquarters.
Aimee Tollan
Co-Director, Breaking Convention
Aimée is a BSc Anthropology graduate from the University of Kent, the home of the first Breaking Convention. ... She has been involved in Breaking Convention from the start, firstly as a volunteer and then was invited on to the Executive Committee as a Director in late 2013.
Tracy Ryan
Founder, Cannakids & CK Soul
Tracy Ryan is the CEO and lead consultant for CannaKids, a California-based cooperative with a focus on supplying medical cannabis oil to adults and children looking for holistic relief for serious health conditions, specializing in pediatric cancer.
Since her infant daughter’s brain tumor diagnosis in June of 2013, Tracy has dedicated a huge part of her life to educating herself on the medicinal powers of medical marijuana in treating her own daughter’s disease, as well as all other pediatric and adult cancers, epilepsy, autism, and beyond. Tracy has worked on a global scale with families who are seeking education and treatment options for their loved ones, and has guided many patients to unheard of success. CannaKids is now on a trajectory to be one of the world’s leaders for cannabinoid therapies based on scientific research and is in collaboration with some of the top researchers, doctors and hospitals in the world.
Nick Kovacevich
CEO, Co-Founder & Chairman, KushCo
Nick Kovacevich is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of KushCo Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:KSHB), the leading provider of ancillary products and services to legal cannabis and CBD industries. Nick became CEO of KushCo in 2014 when the company was primarily a packaging provider, doing less than $2m in annual sales and employing less than a dozen team members. Today, KushCo is one of the most exciting public companies in the US, exceeding $145m in annual sales in fiscal 2019, with operations across the U.S. and globally.
Diane Strauss
Co-Founder & CEO, CREAM
Diane Strauss is Co-Founder and CEO of Conscious Renewal through Energy Agriculture and Medicine (CREAM), working with farmers to focus on improving their financial situation by growing hemp with organic, regenerative practices while creating an interior network so farmers can pool resources to fill special orders for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and dietary supplement companies. Diane also grows hemp for trials and testing and is a member of the Hemp Roundtable—a coalition of hemp companies lobbying at the state level to fully legalize hemp and popular hemp-derived products like cannabidiol (CBD).
Tom Adams
Managing Director, BDSA
Tom Adams serves as the Managing Director & Principal Analyst of BDS Analytics, a company that offers a full understanding of the cannabinoids market through Retail Sales Tracking, Consumer Insights, and Industry Intelligence. Tom is also the Editor in Chief of the Arcview Market Research Group, one of the leading cannabis investment and market research networks. Tom brings to the cannabis industry the Wall St. credibility he earned in spotting the growth potential of start-ups ranging from Blockbuster and AOL to Amazon and Netflix.
Mario Pinzon
Founder and CSO, SIACOMEX Cannabis Division
Mario Pinzon, along with his sister Laura Pinzon, helps run SIACOMEX, a family-owned leading logistics company of some 25 years based in Bogotá, Colombia. Mario founded the SIACOMEX Cannabis Division in 2019, and occupies the position of Chief Strategic Officer, seeking to advance cannabis logistics and its ancillary international opportunities across the Colombia border. The clientele of SIACOMEX Cannabis Division includes most of the major Colombian companies in the legalized cannabis industry. SIACOMEX was the first company in Colombia to trade legal cannabis across borders.
Julie Toskan
CEO, Genius 100
Julie Toskan is the CEO and Visionary of Genius 100, a not for profit organisation comprising an active and engaged community of 100 exceptionally imaginative and impactful human beings, working together to implement creative initiatives to improve our future through positive influence and change. Julie joined the team at ELYTE at its inception in 2019 and is dedicated to creating and distributing world-class CBD-rich consumer products around the globe, with ELYTE's FURTHER team. Julie was part of the core founding group of MAC Cosmetics, one of the world's top makeup brands and is also the founder of the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), the largest youth directed participatory grantmaking organization in the world.
Alexej Pikovsky
CEO, Alphagreen Group
Alexej is the Co-Founder and CEO of Alphagreen Group. Alphagreen operates a data-driven marketplace for CBD and other innovative health products with global reach. Alphagreen also offers tech-enabled services such as SEO and Analytics, as well as a B2B marketplace for shops and restaurants. Prior to Alphagreen, Alexej has been working as an investor for a large-cap private equity fund and a family office where he ran the venture capital operations. He gained operational and board-level experience with several of the portfolio companies.
Roderick Stephan
Partner, Altitude Investment Management
Roderick Stephan is a founding partner of Altitude Investment Management LLC, a cannabis investment management company overseeing investments in more than 20 cannabis companies. Altitude manages two global cannabis funds and recently opened a London office and European platform to focus on European CBD/wellness and medical cannabis investment opportunities. As a mentor and advisor to early-stage and growth cannabis companies, he sits on a number of corporate boards.
Julie Armstrong
Founder & CEO, Aurelius Data
Julie Armstrong is the Founder and CEO of Aurelius Data, the first global big data company using Deep Learning to analyze, predict, and find new cures, market trends, and IP in plant-based medicine markets. Julie is also an Elected Official for the City of Missoula and a State of Montana Ambassador, as well as a Pharmacist, Cancer survivor, top S&P 50 career refugee and equestrian. Julie has a deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and medical sciences and is skilled at navigating government and regulatory environments.
Mark Lucas
CEO and Co-Founder, Cannasouth Limited
Mark heads up New Zealand’s only NZX listed medicinal cannabis company, Cannasouth. Based in the Waikato, Mark and the Cannasouth team have established state-of-the-art research laboratories and cannabis cultivation facilities. Cannasouth was one of the first companies in New Zealand to receive medicinal cannabis research licences for both the cultivation and extraction of cannabinoids. The company’s goal is to develop next-generation cannabinoid therapeutics to support patient health outcomes and improve their quality of life.
Glenn Davies
Founder & Group CEO, CannAcubed
Glenn is a seasoned CEO & Board Director with 25 years of experience leading private & public organizations. Glenn is looking to revolutionize the Industrial Cannabis market and solve some of the world's most pressing issues around Disease, Waste, Poverty, Energy & Environmental. Glenn is currently the Founder & Group CEO of CannAcubed Private Limited, a global diversified Cannabis Company with headquarters in Singapore, and operations in China, Hong Kong, Thailand & Israel.
Rebekah Hall
CEO, South West Brands
Rebekah Hall is CEO of South West Brands and the Founder and CEO of Botanic Lab, which is changing the social drinking landscape and rewriting the rulebook on stereotypical ‘health drinks’. With the 2018 launch of the award-winning Dutch Courage, Botanic Lab became the first brand in the UK to enter the CBD beverage market. A sell-out success and market disruptor, Botanic Lab is at the forefront of CBD in the beverage industry. 2019 sees the unveiling of a powerful rebrand, and marks the launch of Botanic Lab’s second CBD product, Mellowdrama, the 60ml CBD Hotshot.
Robin Dey
Director, Hempcorp
Robin is a Director and Co-Founder of Hempcorp Private Limited (India), with a focus on cannabis cultivation, processing and refinement for medicinal applications. Robin has always had a thirst for entrepreneurial activities, consequently starting several business ventures. More recently working in blockchain technology, financial services and real estate related industries. He graduated with an MBA from the University of Southern Queensland and completed several professional certifications including securities, managed investments and real estate development.
Aaron Smith
Co-Founder & CEO, National Cannabis Industry Association
Aaron Smith is co-founder and chief executive officer of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Prior to launching NCIA in 2010, Aaron distinguished himself as a public advocate for marijuana policy reform — first under the auspices of a California-based medical cannabis advocacy group, Safe Access Now, and more recently as the California state policy director for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. Aaron has successfully built coalitions with elected officials on both sides of the aisle in order to advance marijuana law reform legislation in the state capitol and among the voting public.
Dr Monica Vialpando
Founder & CEO, Vialpando
Dr. Monica Vialpando is the founder of Vialpando, LLC a provider of industry-leading product innovation and development services for global cannabis companies. Monica was recently listed as ‘Top 100 Healthcare Leaders’ by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare and the 2019 recipient of the ElSohly Award for Excellence in Cannabis Chemistry. Monica earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Leuven, Belgium where she published several papers on formulation of poorly water-soluble drugs.
Viviane Sedola
CEO, Dr Cannabis
Viviane Sedola is the female cannabis leadership in Brazil and launched Dr Cannabis in early 2018. She is leading the digital marketplace focused on making legal medical cannabis treatment more accessible and generating data insights from a collaborative community of doctors and patients in Latin America.
Viviane is actively engaged in using her influence to work with key national media outlets and needed political liaisons to reduce friction and bureaucracy with local regulators. In late 2019, she was awarded Female 50 by High Times magazine as one of the 50 most influential women in the cannabis space being the only latin american one.
Steve Rolles
Senior Policy Analyst, Transform Drugs
Steve Rolles acts as Senior Policy Analyst for Transform Drugs and has been instrumental in their development since joining in 1998. He has published widely on drug policy, and was lead author for many of Transform’s publications, including 2009’s ‘Blueprint for Regulation’. He is a regular contributor to the public debate on drug policy, and has advised Governments across the world of policy reform. Before joining Transform, Steve worked for the Medical Research Council and Oxfam.
Ross Bell
Executive Director, NZ Drug Foundation
Ross Bell is Executive Director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, a position he’s held since 2004. The Drug Foundation is New Zealand’s leading alcohol and other drug policy advocacy charity, which was a founding member of IDPC. Ross has held advisory and governance roles with IDPC since its formation. Prior to his role at the Drug Foundation, Ross was involved in social policy advocacy and worked for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Ross holds degrees in international aid and development.
Nick Davis
CEO, Memery Crystal
Nick Davis is Chief Executive of Memery Crystal and a senior corporate partner. Nick recently led the Memery Crystal team on the NEX listing of medicinal cannabis investment vehicle, Ananda Developments which was the second ever public listing of a cannabis vehicle. He has a personal interest in medicinal cannabis as a Trustee of the charity ‘Olivia’s Vision’, the UK’s leading Uveitis charity raising awareness of the condition from which his daughter, Olivia, suffers. Uveitis like many auto immune diseases is being targeted for medicinal cannabis research.
Michael Sassano
Chairman, SOMAI Pharma
Michael Sassano, serves as Chairman of the Board at Somai Pharmaceuticals, an Ireland-based company with wholly owned subsidiaries around the EU for the distribution of cannabis products and has started cannabis cultivation in Greece. Sassano is also founder and CEO of Solaris Farms, a Nevada-based cannabis cultivation company. Today, Solaris is one of a handful of maximum state-approved canopy mega-greenhouses and currently the most technologically-advanced hybrid greenhouse operating in Nevada.
Rhys Cohen
Principal Consultant at FreshLeaf Analytics
Rhys is a recognized thought leader in the Australian medicinal cannabis industry. Rhys was Director of Cannabis Consulting Australia and was previously the Senior Project Officer at the University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics. His industry analysis has been cited by Deloitte Access Economics and the Office of Drug Control as well as ABC News, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and MJBiz Daily.
Paul Gurney
Managing Director, BMO Capital Markets
Paul Gurney is a Managing Director at BMO Capital Markets in London, UK, leading BMO’s coverage of large institutional equity clients in Europe and Asia Pacific. Paul has been closely involved in the sector in Europe ever since, helping raise US$153m for Tilray, the first ever NASDAQ listed cannabis company, and the third best performing IPO in the US in 2018. Paul spearheads BMO’s investment efforts for cannabis companies in Europe, and Australia, introducing investors to sector heavyweights like Aphria, Aurora, Canopy Growth and Tilray, while actively developing the next generation of pre-IPO cannabis companies.
Jakob Sons
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Cansativa GmbH
Jakob Sons is Co-Founder, Managing Director and General Counsel of Cansativa GmbH. From its headquarter in Moerfelden-Walldorf, Germany, Cansativa and its subsidiaries work to professionalize the medical cannabis market, eliminate stigmatization and to permanently reduce prices for patients. In 2019, Cansativa GmbH became the first European company to import medical cannabis from Australia. Jakob is a member of the German bar association and practices corporate and commercial litigation law. He was trained in international law firms for several years and is responsible for regulatory and general legal affairs.
Jon Trauben
Partner, Altitude Investment Management
Jon Trauben is a Partner at Altitude Investment and an active investor and participant in the cannabis industry. He is a board member of several of Altitude’s portfolio companies and an independent director on a cannabis-focused REIT. Jon is an active member of the leading cannabis angel investor network where he is a member of the company selection committee and a mentor to entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. Jon brings a wealth of experience and management expertise as an investor with a 25-year record as a seasoned commercial real estate investor, capital markets and finance executive.
Aras Azadian
Co-Founder & CEO, Avicanna
Utilizing his extensive senior management experience in both financial and bio-technology sectors, Aras co-founded Avicanna with the vision of establishing a bio-pharmaceutical company with a strict focus on medical and pharmaceutical applications of cannabinoids. His expertise in corporate development coupled with his executive experience in the oncology industry have been integral to Avicanna’s thought leadership pertaining to R&D and clinical development.
Dr Scott Smid
Deputy Head of Pharmacology, University of Adelaide
Dr Scott Smid is a pharmacologist specializing in drug discovery and development research both in the pharmaceutical industry and academia. He maintains a strong research interest in experimental therapeutics applied towards novel treatments for gastrointestinal and neurodegenerative diseases. This includes investigating the biological actions of phytocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids and endocannabinoids in areas as diverse as gut function, inflammation and neurodegeneration.
Scott Propheter
Director of Global Cannabinoid Extension and Outreach, Pyxus International
Scott Propheter is the director of global cannabinoid extension and outreach for Pyxus International, Inc. In his role, he provides technical expertise in the complete cannabinoid value chain, helping to drive the Company’s business development strategy. Since 2017, Propheter has been part of the Pyxus family. He is a co-founder of Criticality, LLC, Pyxus’ wholly-owned industrial hemp affiliate, and previously served as Criticality’s vice president of agronomy and outreach.
Zack Grossman
Vice President Marketing North America, FIGR Brands Inc
Zack Grossman serves as the Vice President of Marketing, North America, for FIGR Brands Inc, leading the Company's marketing strategy and initiatives, including the development of new cannabis products and innovation, as the company grows its portfolio and geographic reach. Prior to joining the cannabis industry, Grossman spent 10 years leading the accelerated growth of many brands, including Motrin, Splenda, Polysporin, Nicorette and Nicoderm at Johnson & Johnson, a multinational medical, pharmaceutical and CPG company.
Will Muecke
Co-Founding Managing Member, Artemis Growth Partners
Will Muecke is a co-founding managing member of Artemis Growth Partners, an ESG and impact-oriented private equity platform dedicated to investing 100% in the cannabis industry on a worldwide basis. Artemis Growth Partners oversees US $200+ million in discretionary assets under management (AUM) invested in the global cannabis value chain, including branded products, distributors, value-added service providers, ancillary operators, and science-driven research and development platforms.
Austin Stevenson
Chief Innovation Officer, Vertosa
Austin leads the business development team at Vertosa, an innovative infusion technology start-up based in Oakland, California. He creates partnerships with inventive brands to produce top quality cannabinoid-infused cold brew coffee, beer, wine, fresh juice, topicals and more. Prior to joining Vertosa, Austin leveraged his bio-tech experience building the regulatory Hemp/CBD testing program for Eurofins Scientific - a world leader in food, environment, and product testing services – where he worked with CVS and other retailers to test and verify the quality of their retail CBD topicals.
Kellen O'Keefe
Chief Strategy Officer, Flower One
Kellen O'Keefe is Chief Strategy Officer at Flower One, the largest cannabis cultivator, producer and full-service brand fulfillment partner in the state of Nevada. Leveraging over a decade of cannabis industry experience and a demonstrated history of success in the realms of strategic partnerships and brand development, Mr. O'Keefe is responsible for the oversight and execution of Flower One’s market strategies, including ongoing investor relations and the growth and development of the Company’s Brand Partner portfolio.
Paul Manning
Founder & CEO, Helius Therapeutics
Paul Manning is the founder and CEO of Helius Therapeutics, New Zealand’s largest licensed medicinal cannabis company. He launched an agency called Metromedia at the age of 22, which went on to become New Zealand’s largest independent agency before being acquired by Ogilvy on 2007. He was then the executive director at Ogilvy before joining Clemenger Group as managing director of 99. A former EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Manning has worked at the highest level with major agencies and consulted to dozens of New Zealand’s leading brands.
Kevin EG Perry
Journalist, VICE
Kevin EG Perry is an LA-based writer on culture, cannabis and psychedelics for Vice, Playboy, The Guardian, NME and GQ. Kevin's work has also been published by Time Out, Shortlist, The Independent, The Telegraph, Easyjet Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller, Crack, The Quietus, The Fader, Mixmag, Dazed & Confused, Loaded, Drowned In Sound, Mojo, Exeunt and others. Kevin was shortlisted for The Guardian’s International Development Journalism Award in 2009 and his foreign correspondence has also appeared in New Internationalist as well as on behalf of UNICEF, Oxfam, VSO, the Fairtrade Foundation and the World Health Organisation.
Kaumil S. Gajrawala
Managing Director, Equity Research, Credit Suisse
Kaumil S. Gajrawala is Managing Director of Beverages, Household Products and Personal Care, Cannabis at Credit Suisse. Kaumil has 20 years of analytical experience in investments, beginning his career analyzing the satellite communications industry. After joining PaineWebber in 2000, he began covering U.S. beverages in 2002. Mr. Gajrawala is known in the investment community for his deep industry contact network, relationships with management and out-of-consensus thinking.
Stephen Murphy
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Prohibition Partners
Stephen is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Prohibition Partners, the leading source of intelligence and insights into the European cannabis industry and Co-Founder of Cannabis Europa, Europe’s premier medical cannabis conference. Stephen is also Co-Founder & Director of NOBL, a global leader in cannabis data, events and media, managing a portfolio of some of the best-known brands in the industry. With a background in technology, digital media and corporate finance, Stephen works with investors, entrepreneurs and regulators to identify, qualify and maximise the opportunities in this emerging frontier.
Ahmed El Azizi
Chairman & CEO, Innoviom
Ahmed El Azizi is Chairman and CEO of Innoviom, a Global Innovative Food and Beverage platform that builds on new trends, and is currently in the process of introducing a CBD drink to its existing product line and distribution network. Ahmed is former Global VP of Functional Beverages at PepsiCo and has over 20 years of beverage experience. He is an internationally seasoned executive, with vast multi-cultural experience across 4 continents with Fortune 500 companies, coupled with start-up entrepreneurial experience.
Fleta Solomon
Managing Director, Little Green Pharma
Fleta is the founder and Managing Director of Little Green Pharma, Australia’s first producer and exporter of EU-GMP cannabinoid medicines. With a background in health science, Fleta has spent her career changing people’s lives for the better. Previously, Fleta established and sold one of the largest providers of workplace health services positively transforming the health behaviours of thousands of Australian workers. Fleta’s vision now is to develop a precision dosing methodology, to optimise the delivery of cannabinoids into the body to help solve real patient problems.
Saul Kaye
Founder, iCan
Saul Kaye is the Founder and CEO of iCAN: Israel-Cannabis and CannaTech, a global cannabis industry conference founded with the mission of expanding the global cannabis ecosystem and contributing to the ongoing post-prohibition dialogue. A pharmacist by training, Kaye is a serial entrepreneur and manages multiple retail and online pharmacy stores with global distribution and has founded and operates a number of other businesses.
Board Advisor, MAPS & International Lawyer, Ad Lucem Law
Robert is an international lawyer, qualified in England and called to the British Columbia Bar. Robert founded AD LUCEM LAW CORPORATION in Vancouver in 2013 and his legal practice focuses on commercial business and regulatory issues surrounding cannabis and psychedelic plant medicines.
Robert serves as a Board Advisor to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Canada and Steve DeAngelo’s Last Prisoner Project, as well as a Board Member to Rex Weyler's Ecuador Amazon Restoration Project.
Oisin Lunny
TedX Speaker & SXSW Board Advisor
Oisin Lunny is an award-winning marketer, public speaker, remote event consultant, editor and journalist. A senior contributor to Forbes.com he has also written for The Guardian and is the music editor of London fashion and lifestyle magazine PHOENIX. Oisin has hosted, moderated and given keynote presentations at over 200 conferences in every corner of the world, including TEDx, MWC and six times at SXSW, where he is now a member of the advisory board. He has worked in a series of leading global technology firms over the past 20 years as Global Product Manager, UK & Ireland Country Manager, Technical VP and Chief Evangelist.
Dr Sud Agarwal
CEO, Cannvalate
Dr Sud Agarwal is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cannvalate, Australia's largest medicinal cannabis distribution and contract research organisation in the cannabis space. Dr Agarwal is an internationally recognised key opinion leader in the clinical use of medicinal cannabis and is regularly invited as a keynote to key industry and pharmaceutical events including the World Cannabis Conference and the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Conference. As an experienced clinical researcher, he is currently involved with over 10 clinical trials under submission to international regulatory bodies including the FDA, EMA and TGA.
Max Nardulli
Founder & Managing Partner, Superba Holdings
Max is the Founder and Managing Partner of Superba Holdings, a pioneer pan-European medical platform focussed on extraction, R&D and formulation to provide innovative health solutions to complement the ones of the traditional medical channels. Max has been active in the space for 8 years first as an investor and later leading international organizations both In Europe and North America. Prior to that he spent 18 years in the global financial markets working for primary international organizations in the asset management and investment banking sector.
Nate Niehuus
Founder & CEO, Fast Flower Farms
Nate Niehuus is the Founder and CEO of Fast Flower Farms, a cannabis and cultivation company based in Bay City, Michigan - one of the strongest adult-use cannabis markets in the world. With a passion for cultivating safe, consistent, high-grade cannabis, Nate started Fast Flower Farms in 2018 and has been through over 30 iterations of glasshouse design, finally landing on Dutch Venlo-style glasshouse. Nate popped his first cannabis seed at 18 and learned cannabis cultivation from one of the finest cultivators in British Columbia, Canada.
Joshua Mays
Corporate Agronomist, TriEst Ag Group
Joshua Mays is the Corporate Agronomist for TriEst Ag Group, an agricultural service company with concentrations in soil health, fertility, and providing inputs for crop production systems. In his role, Mays provides sales and product support through agronomic research and development.
Mays came to TriEst from Pyxus International, Inc. and Criticality, LLC where he served as Agronomy Services Manager for North America. During that time he worked closely with hemp growers to incorporate the new crop into their portfolios, developing the agronomic program, and providing in-the-field education and support.
Adele Byrne
Senior Analyst, Prohibition Partners
Adele graduated from University College Dublin with a First Class Hons. Masters degree in Social Science in 2002. Adele has seventeen years experience working in a variety of research and social policy roles for highly respected organisations in the C&V sector and the Irish civil service, most recently as a parliamentary researcher with the Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), supporting elected members of parliament in their scrutiny of draft legislation.
Timmy Davis
Researcher, Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group
As the Psilocybin Rescheduling Project manager Timmy Davis’ primary duty is collating and presenting the evidence for a change in psilocybin’s classification as a Schedule 1 substance under the Misuse of Drugs Regulation 2001. Timmy uses the case of psilocybin as indicative of a wider need for reassessment of the status of many other Schedule 1 substances, such as MDMA. Timmy also contributes to research on routes of access to medical cannabis and is training as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist with the SITE for Contemporary Psychoanalysis.
Ean Alexander
CEO, Altum International
Ean has a Bachelor of Science, an MBA, and over 20 years corporate finance, investment, and asset management experience across the Asia-Pacific region. Ean has developed advanced skills whilst at Macquarie Capital in M&A, deal structuring, valuation, capital raisings, asset management, and business operations. Whilst based in Hong Kong Ean was an Investment Director for a leading regional private equity fund, and since returning to Australia has focused on the cannabis industry. Currently Ean is actively involved in several private in companies in both Director and leadership roles, and several other listed companies.
Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli
Founder, FAAAT
Based in Barcelona, Kenzi is an interdisciplinary researcher and advocate for sustainable drug policy reforms. He co-founded the NGOs NORML France and the think-tank FAAAT. Focused on Action research (matching scholars and citizens) as a catalyzer for legal and social changes, Kenzi has been particularly involved in studying alternative pathways for Cannabis policy reform, linking international law with local initiatives.
David King
Senior Researcher, CDPRG
David King is a graduate medical student at King's College London and senior researcher at the CDPRG. He completed his undergraduate degree in Medical Anthropology (BSc) in 2011 with a research thesis on beliefs and attitudes to health, illness and medicine among cannabis-using populations. Subsequently, Dave worked as a researcher at the Beckley Foundation (2011) and in immunology at the National University of Singapore (2012-13). He is a founder of Breaking Convention, Europe's largest academic conference on psychedelic drug research, and was a founding director of the Breaking Convention charity from 2010-2019.
Natalie Fertig
Cannabis Reporter, Politico
Natalie is a journalist based in Washington, DC who writes primarily for POLITICO. She has reported on cannabis policy and elections, and has a special interest in the way that federal policy affects rural communities, being from one herself.
Micah Tapman
Executive Chairman, BDSA
Micah Tapman serves as the Executive Chairman of BDSA and is a long-time venture capitalist with a background in cybersecurity, financial services, and the cannabis industry. He led the first investment in BDSA in 2015 and has served the company in a variety of roles including investor, advisor, director, and now chairman.
Micah is a co-founder of CanopyBoulder and 7thirty, two venture capital investment groups focused on the cannabis industry, and he is a veteran of both the U.S. Marine Corps and the Fortune 500 world with an MBA and B.S. in computers.
Tyler Beuerlein
Chief Revenue Officer, Hypur
In his role as Hypur’s Chief Revenue Officer, Tyler leverages his extensive experience in building brands, managing key relationships and strategic partnerships. Tyler has been at the forefront of Hypur’s North American expansion efforts in the payment gateway market. Tyler touches Financial Institutions, Government Officials, Regulatory Bodies and the State Legal Cannabis industry. As a result, he possesses an intricate knowledge of the Banking and Regulatory climate,
key industry influencers, industry dynamics and market history.
Brian Sheng
Founder & CEO, Asia Horizon
Brian Sheng is an American businessman and investor with a distinguished career in Sino-US market opportunities. He is the Founder and CEO of Asia Horizon, a private equity investment and operating company focused on the emerging hemp-derived cannabinoid industry in Asia. Mr. Sheng’s decade-long track record includes serving as a General Partner at The Arcview Group, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fresh VC, Foreign Investment Advisor at Qianhai URI Investment Fund, and serving as a Board Member for Eaze and FND Technologies.
Arnaud Dumas de Rauly
Co-Founder & CEO, The Blinc Group
Arnaud Dumas de Rauly is currently Co-Founder and CEO of The Blinc Group. He is a proven thought leader in the science, technology and supply chain of vaping products. Arnaud currently serves as Chairman of the ISO (International) Standards Committee TC126/SC3 on Vaping Products & Chairman of the CEN (European) Standards Committee TC437 on Vapor Products. He is also a member of the informal Marijuana Science and Policy Work Group managed by the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
Robert Jackman
Journalist, The Spectator
Robert Jackman is a writer and journalist with The Spectator magazine. He has written on several aspects of the cannabis world in both the UK and the US, focusing - in particular - on public policy and the legal cannabis industry. Prior to joining The Spectator, Robert served as Head of Partnerships for The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and has worked with Amnesty International as an Internation Projects Advisor.
João Taborda da Gama
Partner, Gama Gloria
João Taborda da Gama advises corporations and government in complex public and tax law issues as an attorney, arbitrator and public policy advisor. His experience spans a wide range of industries in highly regulated sectors such as mobility, life-sciences and controlled substances, technology, and cities.
João combines his private practice with academic activity and civic participation. He served as Secretary of State for Local Government in 2015, and as a political advisor to the President of Portugal from 2011 to 2013. In 2017, he was appointed by the Parliament as a member of the board of the Superior Council of the Tax and Administrative Courts.
João is a member of the Business Ethics Committee of the Portuguese Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (APIFARMA), and a senior advisor of the Albright Stonebridge Group.
Mauricio Agudelo
Chief Financial Officer, Fotmer Life Sciences
Mauricio Agudelo is the Chief Financial Officer at Fotmer Life Sciences (“Fotmer” or “FLS”), a leading Latin American producer of medical cannabis. Fotmer is licensed by the Uruguayan Instituto de Regulación y Control de Cannabis (IRCCA) to grow and export medical cannabis throughout the world. FLS has delivered on the promise to develop the international cannabis supply chain by selling over three (3) metric tons of cannabis flower to Europe, APAC & Israel within the last twelve months, and in the process has become one of the largest exporters of medical cannabis in the world.
Roei Zerahia
Co-Founder and Former CEO, Canndoc-Pharma
Roei is one of the Israeli veterans in the cannabis space, and has been serving in senior management positions since 2010. During 2018, as the CEO of CANNDOC (one of the first Israeli license producers), Roei led the company to an acquisition by Intercure (INCR.TA) a pharmaceutical public company, and which became the first and biggest pharma grade cannabis company in Israel. With a global understanding of the evolving cannabis arena, and as a faculty member and a senior lecturer in the Israeli academy, Roei lectures on different aspects of the cannabis industry around the globe.
Matthew Karnes
Founder & CEO, GreenWave Advisors
Matt Karnes is Founder & CEO of GreenWave Advisors, a cannabis-centric advisory firm that provides independent financial research & analysis, due diligence, and other consulting services. Prior to founding GreenWave Advisors, Matt worked in equity research focusing on the radio broadcasting and cable television industries for First Union Securities. Matt also covered Satellite Communication at SG Cowen and in addition, worked with the top-ranked consumer internet analyst at Bear Stearns & Co – this team was consistently recognized by the Institutional Investor’s “All America Research Team”.
Judy Blumstock
CEO, Diamond Therapeutics
Judy Blumstock is CEO of Diamond Therapeutics who are developing FDA-approved, psilocybin-based therapeutics that deliver patient benefits without undesired perceptual side effects. Judy is also the Senior Director of Corporate Development at Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP), an early stage academic incubator. Prior to joining TIAP, Judith was a principal with Genesys Capital Partners, one of the largest Canadian-based venture-capital firms focused on the life sciences industry. She is also a past director of Insception, Millenium Biologix Corp., Plexagen Diagnostics, and Zelos Therapeutics Inc.
Dr Andy Yates
Pharmaceutical Lead, The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis
Dr Andy Yates is the Pharmaceutical Lead at the Centre for Medical Cannabis. Andy holds a PhD in cannabinoid medicinal chemistry and has over 15 years’ pharma experience working in the medical, commercial, business development and strategy functions. He has extensive experience in all aspects of medicine development programmes and was responsible for multiple collaborative agreements with academia, biotechnology and peer pharma. He runs an independent pharmaceutical consultancy and holds an Honorary Lectureship at Keele University.