2020 is poised to be a year of significant evolution for this emerging market. What can Canadians expect in 2020? Will the US continue to inch towards legalization with 11 states now having some form of legal product? Join Canadian Club Toronto on March 3 when Rami Chalabi (McCarthy Tétrault), Christelle Gedeon (Aphria Inc.), Rishi Malkani (Deloitte) and Andrew Pucher (Tilray) join us to cut through the hype and share their unique insights and expertise on all things cannabis.
Rami Chalabi
Partner, McCarthy Tetrault
Rami Chalabi is a partner in the firm’s Business Law Group in Toronto and a member of the firm’s national Cannabis Group. He has a dynamic corporate commercial practice and is an expert in guiding businesses through complex transactions. With a practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, securities law and capital markets transactions, Rami has acted in both the Canadian and cross-border context.
Rami advises a range of clients across the cannabis industry and is resolute in helping them identify and pursue strategic growth opportunities. He works to actively forge business partnerships between Canadian companies looking to expand domestically and internationally, and foreign entities looking to take advantage of Canada’s legalization of recreational cannabis.
From emerging companies to large publicly‑traded issuers, Rami is trusted by clients to understand their business needs and defend their interests with pragmatic and strategic counsel. In addition to his expertise in cannabis law, he has extensive experience acting in a broad range of industries including mining, real estate, technology, financial services, media & telecommunications and healthcare.
Dr. Christelle Gedeon
Chief Legal Officer, Aphria Inc.
Dr. Christelle Gedeon is the Chief Legal Officer of Aphria Inc., a Canada-based global leader in cannabis listed on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges. Prior to joining Aphria, she was a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP with a practice focused on the life sciences industry, including corporate commercial law, intellectual property matters, and products regulated under the Food and Drugs Act, such as drugs, devices, food, cosmetics and cannabis. Dr. Gedeon received her LL.B./B.C.L. from McGill University and holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Toronto
Rishi Malkani
Partner, M&A Advisory, Transaction Services & Cannabis Practice Leader, Deloitte
Rishi is a partner in the M&A Transaction Services Group at Deloitte. He also leads the Cannabis Practice in Canada.
Rishi has over a decade of experience advising both strategic and financial sponsor clients in a variety of capacities. Rishi specializes in delivering strategic advice, comprehensive due diligence, buy and sell-side advisory services and deal structuring advice. Rishi has advised on transactions across a wide range of industries, and has significant depth and experience in the cannabis sector, insurance (manufacturing and distribution), non-bank lending and structured finance. Rishi regularly advises clients through the entire investment and M&A life cycle, providing innovative transaction solutions and deal insight.
Rishi works with a variety of clients in the Cannabis industry, including Licensed Producers, Retailers, Governments and Consumer Packaged Goods companies, including alcohol and tobacco companies.
Rishi is a CPA and holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst and Financial Risk Manager qualifications, as well as a Masters of Accounting degree.
Andrew Pucher
Chief Corporate Development Officer, Tilray
Andrew joined Tilray in March 2019 from Goldman Sachs, where he was a Managing Director and most recently served as Head of Canadian Diversified Investment Banking, which included coverage of the Canadian cannabis industry. Previously, he was a member of Goldman Sachs’ Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group in New York, where he advised on more than $200 billion in announced M&A and financing transactions, with a focus on the biopharmaceutical sector.
Andrew leads Tilray’s corporate development function, including the team that is responsible for M&A and corporate investments.
Sunny Puri
Principal and Portfolio Manager, Anson Funds
Mr. Puri is a Principal and Portfolio Manager at Anson Funds. Anson Funds is a long-short hedge fund with offices in Toronto and Dallas with three core investment strategies: classic shorts, value longs, and opportunistic investments. Anson Funds was a top 100 midsized fund according to Barrons in 2016 and 2017. Prior to joining Anson, Sunny worked at RBC Capital Markets within the M&A Group in Toronto, Canada and Corporate Finance Group in Sydney, Australia. He attained his Chartered Accountant (CPA) designation while at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Sunny graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York University with a Bachelors of Business Administration (Honors) in Accounting and Finance.
