Village Farms International Appoints Business Leader and Capital Markets Veteran Ann Gillin Lefever as Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:VFF) today announced the appointment of Ann Gillin Lefever to the position of Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. In this newly created role, Ms. Gillin Lefever will be responsible for overseeing investor relations, providing guidance on strategy, growth (including potential mergers and acquisitions) and risk, and leading internal communications, as well as supporting government and public affairs.
Ms. Gillin Lefever is an accomplished business, financial and capital markets executive, who has leveraged her deep experience in equity analysis, capital markets, governance and business strategy for a successful career as an advisor to C-level and board leadership on structuring businesses to create a foundation for positive long-term operating performance, strategy and communications.
"I am thrilled to welcome Ann to the Village Farms' executive team," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms. "Village Farms' has had the benefit of Ann's expertise and experience for several years as a consultant to the Company, throughout which time her counsel has been integral to our strategic planning, analysis, capital markets strategy and communication. She brings a unique and valued perspective to the team that is firmly aligned with our evolution to a vertically integrated plant-based consumer products company, focused on cannabinoids and related health products, with opportunities in North America and around the world. I look forward to her continued contribution, now as a full-time member of the Village Farms' team."
In addition to Village Farms, Ms. Gillin Lefever advised several other organizations on governance and financial strategies while dedicating time to her family, whom she describes as her life-mentors. Her prior professional experience includes roles in the Equities Division management teams of Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers, where she was Head of the Institutional Sales Team for four years. She also developed a business model, Desk-Based Analytics, that created synergies between equity traders and institutional clients and led to increased market share and profitability through innovative content. As a Senior Equity Research analyst covering Consumer Products at both Lehman Brothers and Sanford Bernstein, Ann won many awards for ground-breaking coverage and relished a partnership with other esteemed Food, Beverage and Tobacco analysts at Lehman Brothers. Ms. Gillin Lefever holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from The Wharton School. Currently, she sits on Georgetown University McDonough School's Board of Advisors.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms leverages decades of experience as a large-scale, Controlled Environment Agriculture-based, vertically integrated supplier for high-value, high-growth plant-based Consumer Packaged Goods opportunities, with a strong foundation as a leading fresh produce supplier to grocery and large-format retailers throughout the US and Canada, and new high-growth opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in North America and selected markets internationally.
In Canada, the Company's wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the single largest cannabis operations in the world, the lowest-cost greenhouse producer and one of Canada's best-selling brands. The Company also owns 70% of Québec-based, ROSE LifeScience, a leading third-party cannabis products commercialization expert in the Province of Québec,
In the US, wholly-owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the leading CBD brands and e-commerce platforms in the country. Subject to compliance with all applicable US federal and state laws and stock exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the US high-THC cannabis market via multiple strategies, leveraging one of the largest greenhouse operations in the country (more than 5.5 million square feet in West Texas), as well as the operational and product expertise gained through Pure Sunfarms' cannabis success in Canada.
Internationally, Village Farms is targeting selected, nascent, legal cannabis and CBD opportunities with significant medium- and long-term potential, with an initial focus on the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This press release also contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. We refer to such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information collectively as "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's delisting from the TSX and anticipated benefits therefrom, and may also relate to the Company's future outlook or financial position and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the financial position, business strategy, budgets, expansion plans, litigation, projected production, projected costs, capital expenditures, financial results, taxes, plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Particularly, statements regarding the anticipated benefits of delisting from the TSX as well as future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities for the Company, the greenhouse vegetable industry or the cannabis industry are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by such terms as "can", "outlook", "may", "might", "will", "could", "should", "would", "occur", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "try", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", "likely", "schedule", "objectives", or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to risks that may include, but are not limited to: our operating history, including that of ROSE Lifescience ("ROSE"), Balanced Health Botanicals ("Balanced Health"), Pure Sunfarms and our start-up operations of growing hemp in the United States; the legal status of Pure Sunfarms, ROSE and Balanced Health cannabis business; risks relating to the integration of ROSE into our business; risks relating to obtaining additional financing, including our dependence upon credit facilities; potential difficulties in achieving and/or maintaining profitability; variability of product pricing; risks inherent in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, cannabinoids, and agricultural businesses; market position, ability to leverage current business relationships for future business involving hemp and cannabinoids, the ability of Pure Sunfarms and ROSE to cultivate and distribute cannabis in Canada; existing and new governmental regulations, including risks related to regulatory compliance and regarding obtaining and maintaining licenses required under the Cannabis Act (Canada), the Criminal Code and other Acts, S.C. 2018, c. 16 (Canada) for its Canadian operational facilities), and changes in our regulatory requirements; legal and operational risks relating to expected conversion of our greenhouses to cannabis production in Canada and in the United States; risks related to rules and regulations at the US federal (Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture), state and municipal levels with respect to produce and hemp, cannabidiol-based products commercialization; retail consolidation, technological advances and other forms of competition; transportation disruptions; product liability and other potential litigation; retention of key executives; labor issues; uninsured and underinsured losses; vulnerability to rising energy costs; environmental, health and safety risks, foreign exchange exposure, risks associated with cross-border trade; difficulties in managing our growth; restrictive covenants under our credit facilities; natural catastrophes; the ongoing and developing COVID-19 pandemic; and tax risks.
The Company has based these forward-looking statements on factors and assumptions about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon assumptions that management believes are reasonable based on information currently available to management, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, that may cause the Company's or the industry's actual results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities in future periods to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the factors contained in the Company's filings with securities regulators, including this press release. In particular, we caution you that our forward-looking statements are subject to the ongoing and developing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and future financial results.
When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities. The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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