Board Of Directors

Brent Zettl, President, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Secretary & Director

Mr. Zettl founded the Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary, ZYUS Life Sciences Inc., in April 2018. Prior to becoming the President and CEO of ZYUS Life Sciences Inc, Mr. Zettl had extensive experience in the cannabis industry and was the co-founder of Prairie Plant Systems Inc. in 1988 (“PPS”), CanniMed Ltd. in 2013 and their parent company, CanniMed Therapeutics Inc (collectively, “CanniMed”). In 1991, Mr. Zettl led the development of CanniMed’s first biosecure underground growth chamber in Flin Flon, Manitoba. In February 2003, he founded SubTerra (and PPS’s second biosecure underground growth chamber) at White Pine, Michigan and, in 2004, acquired the mine site for conversion into a biopharmaceutical production facility. Under his leadership, both PPS and CanniMed Ltd. became the first two licensed producers of cannabis under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations made under the CDSA in 2013. In 2016, CanniMed wasm 12 awarded a licence for the production and sale of medical cannabis oils and was acquired in March 2018 for approximately $1.2 billion, the largest acquisition of a cannabis company at the time. Mr. Zettl contributes to the community through his involvement as director of the Canadian Environmental Technology Advancement Corporation – West, past Chair of Harvest Community Inc., a non-profit assisting people with intellectual disabilities, and past Chair of Ag-West Bio Inc., an organization supporting growth in the agricultural biotechnology industry. He has also been the chairman of the board of P.M. Power Group Inc. since 2016. In 2014, Mr. Zettl was awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Prairies Business-to-Consumer category. Mr. Zettl received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan.

 

 

Richard Hoyt, Director (Chair)

Mr. Hoyt is currently a pharmaceutical business development consultant advising clients on pharmaceutical and active pharmaceutical ingredient transactions and licences. Previously he was Vice President of Business Development at Xeris Pharmaceuticals and Vice President of Business Development and Licensing at Mallinckrodt PLC, a leading providers of controlled substances and specialty pharmaceuticals. During his 40-year career at Mallinckrodt PLC, Mr. Hoyt also served as Vice President of Asset and Portfolio Management, Vice President and General Manager of New Products and Technology and Vice President of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Commercial Operations. His professional experiences include senior leadership role in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, research and development and commercial management. Mr. Hoyt serves on several community boards and served as a Director and Chairman of the Technology and Commercialization Committee of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. and Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation. Mr. Hoyt has served as chair of ZYUS Life Sciences Inc.’s Board and Governance and Nominating Committee from September 2020 to July 2023 and was the chair of ZYUS Life Sciences Inc.’s Compensation Committee from October 2020 to August 2021.  Mr. Hoyt has served as chair of ZYUS’ Board, Governance and Nominating Committee and member of the Compensation Committee since July 2023.

John Knowles, Director

Mr. Knowles is a Corporate Director and Chartered Professional Accountant and has over 30 years of board and executive experience in Canadian and international companies, including several years in Africa. He is the former Chair of Ensign Minerals Inc., a private gold development company until its acquisition in 2023, and is President and Chair of Meals on Wheels of Winnipeg Inc., a home meal delivery charitable organization, and is a director of Riverview Health Centre, a Winnipeg acute and long-term care hospital. From 2008 to 2018 he was a director of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. (TSX) and its predecessor, Prairie Plant Systems Inc., and was its Chief Financial Officer from 2016 until its acquisition in 2018. He was a director of Roxgold Inc. (TSX) from 2012 to 2021, was a director of Wildcat Exploration Ltd. (TSXV) from 2007 to 2016 and Hudbay Minerals Inc. (TSX, NYSE) from 2009 to 2015 and has served on the boards of several other public and private Canadian companies. Mr. Knowles has served as a senior officer of publicly listed companies including as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wildcat Exploration Ltd., Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Aur Resources Inc. (TSX), and Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Hudbay Minerals Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen’s University. Mr. Knowles has served as chair of ZYUS’ Audit Committee and a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee since September 2020.

Garnette Weber, Director

Ms. Weber is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Ethnomet Inc., a digital health company since 2023 and a Co- Founder and the CEO of Interactive Tracking Systems Inc. (“itracks”) since 1996. In this capacity, Ms. Weber has played a pivotal role in the strategic planning process, IP management, research and development planning and the formulation of an international marketing strategy at itracks. Ms. Weber led her team in the development of one of the world’s first online focus group platforms in 1999, followed by the first online research community platform in 2001. Thousands of brands and market research companies have used itracks’ qualitative platforms including a number of Fortune 500 companies. Prior to founding itracks, Ms. Weber worked as a physiotherapist for 15 years in both private and public health care facilities and has provided healthcare research consulting for the past 10 years. Ms. Weber has served as a Board member and later the Chair of the Entrepreneurial Foundation and a member of the Saskatchewan Labour Market Commission. Ms. Weber received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Saskatchewan and an Executive MBA from Quantics School of Business and Technology. Ms. Weber has served as chair of ZYUS’ Compensation Committee since August 2021.

Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn, Director

Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn, MD, FRCPC, FAAP was the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Phoenix Canada Oil Company Limited from 2015 to 2023.  Dr. Hepburn is a graduate of Princeton University (summa cum laude) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed postgraduate studies at Harvard University and currently holds faculty appointments at both the University of Toronto School of Medicine and the University of Toronto Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. A physician with 20 years of clinical experience, she also maintains a clinical appointment at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She has completed executive and leadership training at Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the London Business School, and has held senior public policy and medical advisory roles at both the provincial and federal levels in Canada, and both the state and federal levels in the United States of America. She has served on the Boards of Directors of national and provincial non-profit organizations dedicated to child and youth health, mental health, and medical research. She has published extensively on the intersection of regulatory affairs and clinical practice, health system sustainability, public health surveillance, drug safety, drug access and patient outcomes, with her work featured in leading national and international medical and public policy journals. Dr. Moore Hepburn has served as a member of the Corporation’s Compensation Committee since August 2023.

Wayne Brownlee, Director

Mr. Brownlee was VP and CFO of both Potash Corp and Nutrien. He joined Potash Corp when it was a Crown corporation and was a catalyst for the expansion and strategic development throughout its acquisition activity. Mr. Brownlee spearheaded PotashCorp's privatization, transforming it into a publicly traded company and enabling its access to capital markets. In 2018, he played a key role in the merger of Potash Corp and Agrium Inc., forming Nutrien, the world's largest provider of crop inputs. As Nutrien's CFO, Brownlee oversaw finance functions and managed multi-billion-dollar divestments in prominent international potash producers. Mr. Brownlee has served as a member of the Corporation’s Audit Committee and Governance and Nominating Committee since August 2023.

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Board Members and Board Committees