TORONTO — Entourage Health Corp. (TSX-V:ENTG) (OTCQX:ETRGF) (FSE:4WE) (“Entourage” or the “Company”), a Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning cannabis products is pleased to announce the appointment of James Afara as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO).
A results-driven leader with an exceptional track record, James brings over 15 years of operations and supply chain experience to Entourage, serving most recently as its Senior Vice President of Strategic Sourcing, Quality Assurance and Cultivation. His promotion comes at a pivotal time as the Company integrates all functional teams in cultivation, tissue culture, production, operations and supply chain under one leader, to align core competencies and resources for maximum output.
“Our commercial success will always be driven by our ability to scale production of our award-winning Color Cannabis, Saturday and Starseed Medicinal products. Over the past few months, James has demonstrated operational excellence in building disciplined strategies to meet our aggressive sales demand, while leading a team that consistently executes to plan,” said George Scorsis, CEO and Executive Chairman. “With his proven track record, business acumen and strong management outlook, James is perfectly suited to oversee all functions related to bringing saleable products to market, from seed to sale – straight through to distribution. With the addition of James, we have solidified and further strengthened our management team that will be pivotal to meeting our revenue and profitability goals in the near term.”
James Afara, Chief Operating Officer, added: “Entourage has an excellent reputation for producing top-shelf flower and innovative products, as well as consistently meeting fulfilment and delivery commitments. I’m proud to be expanding my mandate alongside this industry’s top professionals – and leading the very best cultivation and operations team in the business. We are already noting positive results and driving value – the benefits of which will eventually be passed along to our consumers, patients and shareholders.”
Prior to joining Entourage in late 2021, James served as the COO at CannTx Life Sciences. A professional engineer by trade, James is widely recognized for his business analytics strategies that helped commercialize proprietary tissue culture remediation services and brought forward automated-operations activities for cannabis produced both in small batches and at scale. Over the past 15 years, James held manufacturing-related leadership roles of increased responsibilities at SteriPro Canada and Maple Leaf Foods. James holds a Bachelor of Science, Biochemical Engineering Degree from Western University and has also completed Leadership Certification courses from the Ivy School of Business.
Mr. Scorsis concluded: “On behalf of the Entourage team, I’d also like to acknowledge and whole-heartedly thank Jeff Keyes, SVP of Operations, for his dedication to optimizing our operations over the past three years. Under Jeff’s watch, our provincial partners applauded Entourage for its stellar production record, routinely naming the Company as a top performer and shining example of efficiency and operational excellence. Jeff recently advised he was stepping down to pursue a manufacturing-focused role outside of the Company. We wish Jeff all the best in his new pursuits and will always be indebted to him, for his contributions to our success.”
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About Entourage Health Corp.
Entourage Health Corp. is the publicly traded parent Company of Entourage Brands Corp. (formerly WeedMD RX Inc.) and CannTx Life Sciences Inc., licence holders producing and distributing cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates a state-of-the-art hybrid greenhouse and processing facility located on 158-acres in Strathroy, ON; a fully licensed 26,000 sq. ft. Aylmer, ON processing facility, specializing in cannabis extraction; and a micropropagation, tissue culture and genetics centre-of-excellence in Guelph, Ontario. With its Starseed Medicinal medical-centric brand, Entourage has expanded its multi-channeled distribution strategy. Starseed’s industry-first, exclusive partnership with LiUNA, the largest construction union in Canada, along with employers and over 10 union groups complements Entourage’s direct sales to medical patients. Entourage’s elite adult-use product portfolio includes Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis and Royal City Cannabis Co.– sold across eight provincial distribution agencies. It is the exclusive Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning U.S.-based wellness brand Mary’s Medicinals sold in both medical and adult-use channels. Under a collaboration with The Boston Beer Company subsidiary, Entourage is also the exclusive distributor of cannabis-infused beverages ‘TeaPot’ in Canada, which launched in select provinces in summer 2022.
