Scoop: A Morgan Stanley Executive Director Resigns To Take CFO Job In The Cannabis Industry

It feels like every week we learn about a former Wall Street executive or politician has migrating to the cannabis industry, from former Mexican president Vicente Fox joining several marijuana companies to a former MTV executive taking over a CEO role.

This week, Benzinga learned exclusively about the latest move.

From Morgan To Marijuana

Vinzan International Inc., a Toronto-based cannabis trading company, will appoint Donald Stewart as its new Chief Financial Officer. Stewart leaves his executive director position at Morgan Stanley MS after 12 years with the company. He was in charge of Morgan Stanley Canada’s international trading business.

“I loved my time at Morgan Stanley, but this was a chance to build something special from the ground up,” Stewart told Benzinga. “The opportunity in the global cannabis market, specifically with Vinzan International, was too good to ignore. I’ve worked with world class talent my entire career and the team at Vinzan is one of the best I have ever seen.”

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'Building A Top Tier Team'

Adding to these comments, Vinzan CEO Brian Armstrong said, “We’ve built a top tier team that is ready to compete in the global market. The next few years will be very important in the cannabis industry as we enter into an age of accountability. With our IPO quickly approaching, adding an experienced leader with Donald’s business acumen is exactly what Vinzan International needed as we transition into publicly traded markets.”

Vinzan International is in the process of building food and pharma-grade extraction facilities in Colombia and Southeast Asia, seeking to establish itself as a leader in the global cannabis market. Management disclosed they're targeting an initial public offering in 2019. The company runs licensed operations in Laos, Thailand and Colombia.

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