TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: AH, OTCQX: ALEAF) (“Aleafia Health” or the “Company”) today announced that CEO Geoffrey Benic will leave the Company, effective February 7, 2022. To succeed Benic, the Board named Tricia Symmes, previously the Company’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), as the Company’s new CEO.

“Geoff joined Aleafia in June 2018 at a turning point for the Company,” said Mark J. Sandler, board chair. “He brought to Aleafia Health a strong entrepreneurial background and helped the company develop its diversified indoor, greenhouse and outdoor production capabilities and its class-leading processing facilities. We wish Geoff well as he moves on to pursue other business interests.”

Symmes became Aleafia Health’s CCO in August 2020 and led the move into the branded recreation market, where the company recently entered the top 10 in the key market categories. She has extensive executive C-suite experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech, consumer-packaged, and cannabis industries in both North American and international markets. Before joining Aleafia, Symmes served as Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of multinational companies, including Alcon Canada and Novartis Pharmaceuticals, as well as General Manager at CX Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of Entourage Health Corp. She is one of the first female CEOs in the Canadian cannabis industry.

“Tricia is exactly the right person to rise to the challenges of today’s market and lead the next phase of the company’s growth. Leveraging her 20 years of experience as a senior executive in salient industries, Aleafia has seen exponential growth in adult-use cannabis net revenue in only 6 months, while the company’s medical business has continued to move from strength-to-strength, including through the unparalleled partnership with Unifor,” said Sandler. “Her elevation to CEO is part of the natural evolution of the company and is based on her demonstrated achievements. We look forward to her continuing to improve the company’s operational efficiency, and to profitably building market share and brand recognition nationally and globally.”

Symmes holds an MBA from Charles Sturt University (Australia), and an Honours BSc in Kinesiology (Western University).

For Investor and Media Relations, please contact:

Matt Sale, Chief Financial Officer
1-833-TSX-ALEF (879-2533)
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LEARN MORE: www.AleafiaHealth.com

About Aleafia Health:

Aleafia Health, a vertically integrated and federally licensed Canadian cannabis company, owns three licensed cannabis production facilities, including the first large-scale, legal outdoor cultivation facility in Canadian history, and operates a strategically located distribution centre, all in the province of Ontario. The Company produces a diverse portfolio of cannabis derivative products including oils, capsules, edibles, sublingual strips, and vapes, for sale in Canada in the adult-use and medical markets and is pursuing opportunities in select international jurisdictions. The Company owns and operates a virtual network of medical cannabis clinics staffed by physicians and nurse practitioners.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this news release. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks contained in the Company’s annual information form filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.