Summers take over from Michel Passebon who will be the chairman of EXMceuticals Farming BV as well as overall head of production for the EXMceuticals group
Inc () announced Thursday changes to its management structure following the recent granting of the Portugal research and development license.
Michel Passebon will voluntarily step away from being the CEO and will instead be the chairman of Farming BV as well as overall head of production for the EXMceuticals group. The board has asked Jonathan Summers to perform the role of CEO initially on an interim basis until the company’s annual general meeting. These changes are effective immediately.
“Michel has led the company through a crucial period in 2019 both before and following the RTO listing and major progress has been made, “ Summers said in a statement.
READ: EXMceuticals obtains licence for cannabis R&D from Portuguese government
“Not only is EXM now entitled to conduct cannabis R&D activities in Portugal, but we have also conducted our first cannabis harvest in Uganda, as well as pushed forward a number of other cultivation license applications in Africa. With his extensive experience and knowledge as a senior agro-industrial engineer in various countries, Michel is the perfect candidate to help us expand in the promising African and European markets.”
The Portuguese license enables the company to import raw material fom Africa into Portugal and refine it inside the existing R&D facility and pilot refinery.
EXMceuticals is now actively pushing forward with an initial cannabis importation, as well as the fit out and licensing of the sizable industrial facility that has been leased to the south of Lisbon. Once licensed and constructed, this facility will require a substantial amount of raw and processed cannabis material to be available for refining.
Given this license development, the company said Passebon has offered to refocus his time and energy on the company’s production activities, both biomass and isolate. EXMceuticals said it is now seeking to significantly expand its cultivation footprint and acreage, as well as build the larger refining facility in Portugal.
In other company business, the board has adopted an omnibus equity compensation plan reserving 10% of the company’s issued shares on a rolling basis for issuance pursuant to grants under the plan, which is intended to advance the interests of the company by providing equity-based incentives to key persons, including directors, officers, employees and consultants.
The plan provides for the grant of stock options as well as share appreciation rights, restricted share units, deferred share units and performance share units to eligible participants. It will be presented to shareholders for their approval at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting to be held on December 3.
The company also granted 500,000 restricted share units under the plan to Summers in connection with his appointment as chairman in May 2019. The restricted share units have a deemed price of $1.35 per unit and entitle the holder to receive one share per restricted share unit, subject to vesting in equal annual installments over a three year period.
Shares of EXMceuticals recently traded 5.5% higher to C$0.95 in Toronto.
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