You may remember the story back in June where Cannabis Wheaton terminated an $80 million deal with two investment banks amid rumours of conflicts of interest, only to bounce back the next day with a $50 million deal with a different bank.
One of the key players, Hugo Alves, was the lawyer who advised Cannabis Wheaton on the cancelled deal. His large stake in Cannabis Wheaton partly contributed to the conflict of interest accusations, and it didn’t help when it was announced he was leaving his firm to serve as Cannabis Wheaton’s president a few days later.
But it appears the blowback has blown over, and Cannabis Wheaton has shown no signs of slowing down.
As of August 1st, Hugo Alves has officially ended 18 years of legal practice at Bennet Jones to take up his new role.
Chuck Rifici, Cannabis Wheaton’s CEO and Chairman, said in the press release, “Hugo’s reputation as a relationship builder, tireless worker and value creator is second to none. It speaks volumes to our vision that someone with Hugo’s pedigree and reputation would leave a long-standing and incredibly successful law practice to join our team and build this business with us”.
Mr. Alves’ response was equally effusive, saying, “I am extremely excited to take the helm alongside Chuck at Cannabis Wheaton. The decision to jump into [the] industry was not one that I took lightly”.