AVIDA Global Strengthens Management Team Following £1.9M Raise

LONDON, Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Maymon-Pomeranchik joins advisory board and Ben Iversen appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) within British company aiming to be a world leader in the production of high-grade cannabis oils and isolates for the medical, nutraceutical and cosmetic markets.

AVIDA Global, the British producer of high-grade medicinal cannabis oils and isolates, today announced a new CFO and a new advisory board role for world renowned medicinal cannabis expert, Dr. Maymon-Pomeranchik.

Based in London, England, the company successfully raised £1.9m in its second funding round in December 2019. This followed the award of cultivation licences in Colombia together with licence approval from the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA). 

Chaired by Lord Mancroft, who has been described as the 'most knowledgeable parliamentarian on the subject of drugs', AVIDA Global aims to be the world's leading B2B producer of high-grade cannabis oils and isolates. 

Dr. Inbar Maymon-Pomeranchik, one of the world's leading experts on medicinal cannabis, joins AVIDA Global's advisory board. A scientist and Biotech Investment consultant, specialising in Life Science, Biotech, Ag-tech and the Medical Cannabis Industry, Dr. Maymon-Pomeranchik is also globally recognised as a specialist speaker and lecturer. With a PhD in plant science and molecular biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Post Doctorate from the Weizmann Institute, Maymon-Pomeranchik is also the founder of Biodiligence, an advisory business for investors and biotech companies.

Speaking of her role, David Kirby, CEO, AVIDA Global, said: "Dr. Inbar Maymon-Pomeranchik has been working with us from pretty much our inception. Her skills and experience are invaluable to us and we share an ambition and vision for how we believe the medical and wellbeing cannabis market should evolve. Elevating her position within AVIDA Global to be on our advisory board means she will play a more active role in our strategy, market focus and our genetics programme."

"I am so pleased to be working more closely with Avida Global," commented Inbar. "I have been involved in the medical cannabis market since the start of its growth and have worked with many global cannabis companies. AVIDA Global impressed me from the outset. Their total focus on quality and consistency is backed-up with solid investment and an exceptionally talented team. I am very excited about the future."

Ben Iversen was most recently the CFO and co-founder of FlowStream Commodities, the first scaled oil & gas royalty and streaming company outside of North America. Prior to FlowStream, Ben spent 23 years in investment banking working for Cazenove, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Nomura in London, Hong Kong and Singapore. He has extensive corporate finance, capital raising and IPO experience.

David Kirby, CEO, said, "As our operation develops, Ben's immense experience will be critical in helping us scale. As a senior professional with three decades of relevant experience behind him, he is well placed to help us achieve our ambition of being a leading B2B producer of the highest quality cannabis oils and isolates."

Lord Mancroft commented, "I'm delighted to formally welcome Inbar and Ben to AVIDA Global. It's a company that is going about medical cannabis production in a very controlled, careful, business-like and scientific manner. That's the way it should be done. It's very focussed, thoughtful and alert to the issues and by bringing in the right team, it is also a business with potential for huge growth."

Notes to Editors:

About AVIDA Global

AVIDA Global is based in London, England, and was incorporated in 2018. It has 40 hectares licenced for growth on a dedicated farm in north-east Colombia, considered to be one of the best global locations for cultivation of its top-quality plants and availability of highly skilled experts.

All of its facilities will operate to the highest GMP standards and the first commercial batch of high-quality oils will be available in Q4 2020. As a business-to-business supplier it will supply more than 10 tonnes of oil and isolates to the global market.

About the market

• Global Cannabis market is estimated to be c.US$150 billion today
• Expected to grow to $272 billion by 2028
• Medical cannabis market alone expected to reach US$55 billion by 2023
• CBD market is expected to grow to US$17.3 billion by 2026

About Lord Mancroft, Chairman AVIDA Global

Lord Mancroft is a distinguished UK political figure. He has been a member of the House of Lords for more than 30 years and also has huge experience in business and the third sector. He is a former Chairman of the Drug and Alcohol Foundation and has been President of the Lotteries Council since 2005. He is involved in a number of health charities and has been described as the most knowledgeable parliamentarian on the subject of drugs.

About David Kirby, CEO Avida Global

David comes from a VC background guiding early-stage businesses through to success. Prior to this he spent 16 years at Capgemini where he sat on the UK Board and the European Management Team, responsible for some 1,200 people. He then spent a number of years with Shell in the Netherlands where he sat on the Global IT Leadership Board managing a projects' budget of over $1.3bn. For the last 2 years, David has been instrumental in setting up and driving the success of Avida Global.