Cannabis Movers & Shakers: Elev8, Eaze, Aphria, Australis, Arcview, HempMeds, iAnthus, EnWave

Here is a summary of the latest company shakeups within the cannabis industry.

Elev8 Cannabis Names Naomi Granger CFO

Oregon-based adults-medical cannabis company Elev8 Cannabis tapped Naomi Granger to oversee its finance department.

Granger is the first CFO of the company. She served as CFO in a number of companies within the cannabis industry. In addition, she taught cannabis accounting to more than 600 accounting firms nationwide.

Granger also introduced Green Leaf CFO to further sharpen her accounting skills within the cannabis space.

“I am thrilled to join Elev8 Cannabis in this chief financial officer role, and I look forward to working closely with Elev8 as it continues growing and its value increases,” Granger noted Wednesday.

Elev8 is opening two Massachusetts stores — in Orange and Williamstown — in early 2021.

Eaze Taps NBA champion Matt Barnes As Board Advisor

California's legal cannabis marketplace Eaze named NBA champion Matt Barnes an advisor to the Board of Directors.

Barnes will also advise the San Francisco company on cannabis policy, social impact, and industry relations.

He will start by supporting the introduction of the second year of Eaze's Momentum business accelerator.

"As an advocate and athlete, Matt changed the game by normalizing cannabis in professional sports and inspiring others to be authentic about their use of the plant," Eaze CEO Ro Choy said Wednesday.

In addition, the company confirmed it had tapped co-founder of Kiva Confections Kristi Palme and VERTOSA Chief Innovation Officer Austin Stevenson to the Momentum advisory board, which now counts seven members.

Aphria And Australis Capital Elect Directors At Annual Meetings of Shareholders

Aphria Inc. APHA APHA has elected seven of the director nominees to serve as its directors.

The new board of directors includes Irwin D. Simon, Renah Persofsky, Jodi Butts, John M. Herhalt, David Hopkinson, Tom Looney, and Walter Robb.

Separately, Australis Capital Inc. elected the following nominees to its board of directors, including Dr. Duke Fu, Dr. Jason Dyck, Avi Geller, Hanoz Kapadia, and John Esteireiro.

"We are pleased that the efforts of board renewal are now complete, and have received such overwhelming support of the Australis shareholders," Fu said.

Arcview’s Kimberly Kovacs Joins CBDCapitalGroup’s Advisory Council

CBD investment company CBDCapitalGroup welcomed Kimberly Kovacs to its Advisory Council.

The cannabis industry expert and innovator serves as The Arcview Group’s CEO and Chairman of Arcview Capital.

Kovacs has been an active angel investor for more than ten years, raising over $100 million in equity capital.

Over the past two decades, Kovacs has both founded and co-founded several companies in the technology and life sciences sectors.

Previously, she served at MyJane as CEO and its founder. In addition, Manifest 7 acquired MyJane last year.

“Since the founding of CBDCapitalGroup, we have understood the power of diversity and adding intelligent, powerful women to our team,” David Metzler, CBDCapitalGroup CEO, said Thursday. He emphasized that “Kovacs embodies this to the fullest extent,” having “led early and mid-stage companies to success.”

In June, CBDCapitalGroup obtained funding to acquire its hemp-producing subsidiaries, Medix CBD and Mana Artisan Botanics. The Sand Diego company secured bridge financing via capital investment from Atwood Consortium, LLC.

HempMeds Promotes Raul Elizalde To CEO, Matheus Patelli Named Managing Director Of Brazilian Operations

HempMedsnamed Raul Elizalde its CEO.

He served as co-CEO for over six months alongside Caroline Heinz, formerly the Vice President of HempMeds Brasil.

Prior to this, he was the President of HempMeds Mexico and Latin American operations after joining the company in June 2017.

Elizalde has been a medical cannabis advocate, struggling to obtain cannabidiol hemp oil for his daughter Grace.

“The knowledge, expertise, and undeniable passion Raul has for this Company, and the industry are immeasurable,” HempMeds co-founder Michelle Sides shared. “He has fought not only for his own family’s access to CBD but for entire countries to have the same access to the benefits CBD provides.”

Simultaneously, Matheus Patelli - previously serving as Director of Marketing and Sales for HempMeds Brasil and the U.S.- was named Managing Director of the company’s Brazilian operations.

HempMeds is a subsidiary of Medical Marijuana Inc. MJNA.

Joy Chen Parts Ways With iAnthus Capital Holdings

iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. IAN ITHUF confirmed Thursday the departure of another board member Joy Chen.

Chen opted to part ways with the New York-headquartered company, which has been facing some difficult challenges for months now.

The board, which initially had five independent directors, now counts only three members.

"Speaking on behalf of the entire iAnthus team, we appreciate the opportunity we had to benefit from Joy's extensive professional background, thorough business acumen, and the strategic insights that she brought to our board," disclosed Randy Maslow, the company's President, Interim CEO and Director.

EnWave Welcomes Pablo Cussatti To Its Board

EnWave Corporation ENW confirmed Friday, it has appointed Pablo Cussatti to serve on its board of directors, on the heels of Hugh McKinnon's retirement.

Cussatti has over 28 years of experience in food operations and manufacturing.

He also serves at Ventura Foods as Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, and has worked with other national brands, including Blue Apron, Pinnacle Foods, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Dean Foods, to name a few.

At his new position, Cussatti would support operations and growth prospects of the company's wholly-owned subsidiary - NutraDried Food, among other things.

Besides Cussatti, the Vancouver-based company's board now includes Mary Ritchie, Stephen Sanford, Dr. Steward Ritchie, John P.A. Budreski, Brent Charleton, and Patrick Turpin.