Changes in top management are afoot at OrganiGram Holdings (OGI -2.22%). The Canadian cannabis producer announced Wednesday it has created a chief strategy officer position, which is being filled by now-former Chief Financial Officer Paolo De Luca. To replace De Luca, Organigram has tapped Derrick West. Both appointments are effective immediately.
As chief strategy officer, De Luca "will be responsible for establishing and reviewing key strategic priorities and translating these into a comprehensive execution plan working with the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors," the company wrote in the press release heralding the moves.
De Luca had been the marijuana company's CFO since December 2017. Prior to that, he served in a variety of positions at companies such as Toronto Dominion Bank's investment banking arm, TD Securities.
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Incoming CFO West had been serving on OrganiGram's board of directors; he began his tenure in December 2017, and was the chair of the board's audit committee. He relinquished his board seat upon his appointment as CFO. Previously, he worked for a number of companies, primarily in the finance industry. Most recently, he was CFO of Canadian real estate investment trust Partners REIT.
OrganiGram has some momentum behind this expansion of its C-suite. In the first quarter of its fiscal 2020, which ended Nov. 30, the company's revenue grew by nearly 55% on a sequential basis from its fiscal Q4 2019, trouncing analysts' estimates. And unusually for the generally loss-making cannabis industry, OrganiGram came very close to breaking even on the bottom line.
OrganiGram's stock rose by just over 2% on Wednesday.
