Akanda appoints Tom Flow COO and Steven George Commercial Director

A Akanda Corporation (NASDAQ: AKAN) announced today that it has named Tom Flow for the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Akanda and Managing Director of Holigen, and steven george for the position of commercial director, as of the 1st of September. Akanda believes the two signings will increase its leadership direction and profitability across the European medical cannabis market. In Press release Tej Virk, CEO of Akanda, stressed that “we have the in-house capacity to take a leading position in the existing European medical cannabis market, with the aim of participating in the adult-use market when it opens”.

Tom Flow, founder of flowr corporation, to whom Akanda acquired the Portuguese subsidiary Holigen in May for €26 million, has over 15 years of direct experience in the cannabis industry, with an emphasis on design and operations, including several EU GMP certified growing facilities. Flow has also co-founded several cannabis companies, such as MedReleaf Corp., later sold to Aurora in a transaction valued at more than €3 billion, or The Flowr Corporation, where he held executive positions including CEO, COO and president.

Steven George joins Akanda after working in the financial sector and medical cannabis. He started his career in business development in financial services in 2017, moved to Portugal for an MBA and started working in the European cannabis industry the following year. He was Iberian Country Manager and European Alliance Manager at Tilray, where he secured the first ACM (Marketing Authorization) for a THC dried flower in Portugal and the first medical cannabis export from Portugal to Europe and Israel. In July 2021, George left Tilray and began offering independent consulting services to cannabis customers across the European region.

In a press release, Tej Virk, CEO of Akanda said, “Adding elite and proven global cannabis executives like Tom and Steven is an important milestone for Akanda, expanding our capabilities and increasing our leadership as we grow. . This starts with maximizing our combined annual grow and processing capacity of 10 tonnes in our growing facilities. premium indoor, certified with EU GMP in Sintra, Portugal. And we will also focus on commercially activating our 180-acre GACP outdoor site and greenhouse in Aljustrel, Portugal, which has over 100 metric tons of annual growing capacity.”

Virk added, “These signings are illustrative of the ongoing work we are doing to build the best possible team to engage Europe's fast-growing cannabis market. Tom is known for his operational prowess, having built and scaled premium indoor cannabis growing businesses in Canada and Portugal. Steven, meanwhile, is a commercial pioneer in Europe and will help us accelerate our path to profitability. We have the in-house capability to take a leading position in the existing European medical cannabis market, with the aim of participating in the adult-use market when it opens up.”

Both Tom Flow and Steven George will be based in Akanda's growing facility offices in Sintra, Portugal.