Alphagreen, Europe’s largest consumer marketplace for certified cannabis (CBD, cannabidiol) products, has today announced the appointment of Niel Marotta and Markus Hoffmann as board advisors and Dr Patricio Stocker as Chairman. They will work directly with co-founder and CEO Alexej Pikovsky providing strategic counsel to scale the business globally.
In light of coronavirus, a surge in consumer demand for health and wellbeing products has seen a four-fold rise in visitors to Alphagreen and a 30% increase in sales this month. As people consider new ways and means to strengthen their immune systems, CDB products are proving popular in Europe. The recent fundraise, these new appointments and current trends put Alphagreen in prime position to underpin its market leading position, take further market share and look further afield in the CDB sector.
In 2015, Niel Marotta took his expertise in business development and capital markets and co-founded Indiva, a Canadian licensed producer of medical-grade cannabis. Today, they are a publicly traded company in Canada and the United States. Indiva produces premium pre-rolls, capsules and edibles. Prior to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Indiva, Niel spent two decades working in the finance industry in a variety of leadership roles
Niel Marotta commented: “The Alphagreen team have created a brilliant platform for producers of CBD products. Every producer in South and North America is looking for distribution channels in Europe. Alphagreen is well placed to enable access to one of the biggest consumer markets globally.”
Markus Hoffmann, a lawyer by training, worked in private equity for several years covering green-tech, pharmaceuticals and consumer product companies. He has been active in the medical cannabis industry since 2015 spending time in New York at the Bronfman family office, a shareholder of the biggest European medical cannabis producer, Bedrocan. Most recently, he was part of the founding team of Jacana, a global licensed manufacturer of medical cannabis products looking to export medical cannabis into Europe.
Dr Patricio Stocker was previously Chairman, President and CEO of PharmaCielo, the world’s largest licensed cannabis producer based in Toronto with Colombian operations. During his time there, he led the development of the Colombian cannabis industry and transformation by creating consumer-friendly, premium quality cannabis products that were ready-for-market. In 2019, he moved to Blueberries Medical Corporation as CEO, another producer of medicinal cannabis products, before his appointment to chairman of Alphagreen.
Before pivoting to the cannabis industry, Dr Stocker was an industry veteran of 20 years in the European and South American automotive industry, chiefly at Daimler. During his time there, he held various positions from country President and CEO for DaimlerChrysler Colombia to Head of Truck and Bus Division for Daimler Latin America.
The appointments come at an exciting time for Alphagreen as the business gears for growth and, separately, becomes a licensed manufacturer and wholesaler of cannabis products in Germany, making it one of the first companies selling to pharmacies across the country.
On the new appointment, Alexej Pikovsky, CEO and Co-Founder of Alphagreen commented: “Health and wellbeing are becoming more important than ever. Our platform has already enabled thousands of customers to discover high quality products and get them delivered to their homes. In preparing the business for the next phase of growth, we are delighted to welcome Niel, Markus and Patricio to the company. Their extensive experience of building businesses and expertise in the cannabis industry will provide just the perspective and guidance Alphagreen requires to consolidate the European market and expand further afield.”
Dr Patricio Stocker, Chairman of Alphagreen commented: “Alphagreen is transforming the landscape of the cannabis product industry through a unique transparency for customers. Their focus on quality and the trust bond with consumers and suppliers means they are well placed for growth. Their game-changing and innovative attitude is refreshing. I look forward to working with the team in channeling their drive and ambition.”
These appointments follow a £500k equity funding round at Alphagreen. Several tech angel investors took part in the funding round alongside the cannabis-focused investment company ENEXIS AB, which has backed several cannabis industry businesses including NOBL, Dragonfly Biosciences and Emmac Life Sciences.
