Canopy’s chief legal officer leaving cannabis firm in October

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Phil Shaer, the chief legal officer for Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth, is set to leave the company next month, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“On September 14, 2021, Mr. Phil Shaer notified Canopy Growth Corporation of his intention to resign as the company’s chief legal officer and corporate secretary. The effective date of Mr. Shaer’s resignation is October 1, 2021,” the filing states.

Shaer has been with Canopy since March 15, 2016.

No other information was provided in the filing, but a spokeswoman for the company thanked Shaer “for his valuable contributions to Canopy over the last six years and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

“Phil Shaer not only defined an industry leading legal function, but during his half a decade tenure at Canopy, played a key role in scaling the company from its early days to our current position of global leadership as a best-in-class, CPG modelled cannabis company,” the spokeswoman, Jennifer White, told MJBizDaily via email.

Canopy appointed James Wishart, vice president and associate general counsel, as interim chief legal officer as the company looks for a permanent replacement.

Shaer’s approximate two weeks’ notice was the minimum allowed under his employment agreement.

He submitted his notice the day of Canopy’s annual general meeting, on Sept. 14, when shareholders were asked to vote on four proposals.

In the first proposal, Canopy Growth’s shareholders elected all seven nominees to the board.

However, support for some of the nominees fell compared to the previous year.

Votes cast in favor of board member William Newlands declined to 91.6%, down from the previous year’s 96.8%.

Support for board members Robert Hanson and James Sabia dipped to 94.3% and 95.4%, respectively.

Another proposal, a nonbinding vote on compensation for Canopy Growth’s executives, was also approved.

Earlier this year, MJBizDaily reported that Canopy’s executives were awarded raises and bonuses after the cannabis giant reported a loss of 1.7 billion Canadian dollars ($1.3 billion) for the year.

Canopy shares trade as WEED on the Toronto Stock Exchange and CGC on the Nasdaq exchange.