— Orville Bovenschen, Chief Operating Officer, Pure Sunfarms, Appointed President /
Mandesh Dosanjh Steps Down and Will Assume Transitional Advisory Role –
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 22, 2023 — Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VFF) today announced the appointment of Orville Bovenschen as President of Pure Sunfarms, effective immediately. Mandesh Dosanjh has stepped down from his role at Pure Sunfarms and will move into a strategic advisory position for a transitional 90-day period.
Mr. Bovenschen joined Village Farms as Vice President of European Business Development and Operations and was later named Chief Operating Officer of Pure Sunfarms, returning to the Village Farms’ facility he originally helped design, repurpose and commission for cannabis operations. He also formerly held several senior roles in cannabis, during which, among other things, he oversaw innovation and new product launches.
“Orville takes on leadership of Pure Sunfarms as we are executing on our strategy to meet the evolving preferences of the cannabis market in pursuit to be the long-term, profitable market leader,” said Michael DeGiglio, CEO Village Farms. “Orville has a strong track record of delivering operational efficiency and has led multiple initiatives that have improved quality and consistency across all Pure Sunfarms’ brands. Having worked closely with Orville for several years, I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead one of the deepest, most experienced and most successful management groups in the cannabis industry, who, together with the Rose LifeScience team, are building on our dominant position in dried flower and leading brands to take our Canadian Cannabis business to the next level.”
“I would like to thank Mandesh for the five years he dedicated to leading Pure Sunfarms, one of the largest, lowest cost cannabis operations in the world, and contributing to our top-three market share position nationally,” added Mr. DeGiglio. “He has built upon our rock-solid foundation, including a talented team with deep consumer packaged goods experience, from which we will continue to build and grow. We appreciate his ongoing support throughout the transitional period and wish him the best as he pursues his future endeavors.”
Mr. Bovenschen joined Village Farms as Vice President, Business Development and Operations, Europe in 2021, before being appointed Chief Operating Officer of Pure Sunfarms in 2022. Prior to joining Village Farms, he served as Chief Operating Officer (among other executive roles) of its previous joint venture partner for Pure Sunfarms. Mr. Bovenschen has also spent more than 15 years in a number of international business capacities, working in Europe and the Middle East in addition to North America. Mr. Bovenschen holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and attained his Master of Business Administration from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands.
Mr. Bovenschen will report directly to Michael DeGiglio, Chief Executive Officer of Village Farms.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms leverages decades of experience as a large-scale, Controlled Environment Agriculture-based, vertically integrated supplier for high-value, high-growth plant-based Consumer Packaged Goods opportunities, with a strong foundation as a leading fresh produce supplier to grocery and large-format retailers throughout the US and Canada, and new high-growth opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in North America and selected markets internationally.
In Canada, the Company’s wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the single largest cannabis operations in the world, the lowest-cost greenhouse producer and one of Canada’s best-selling brands. The Company also owns 70% of Québec-based, Rose LifeScience, a leading third-party cannabis products commercialization expert in the Province of Québec.
In the US, wholly-owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the leading CBD brands and e-commerce platforms in the country. Subject to compliance with all applicable US federal and state laws and stock exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the US high-THC cannabis market via multiple strategies, leveraging one of the largest greenhouse operations in the country (more than 5.5 million square feet in West Texas), as well as the operational and product expertise gained through Pure Sunfarms’ cannabis success in Canada.
Internationally, Village Farms is targeting selected, nascent, legal cannabis and CBD opportunities with significant medium- and long-term potential, with an initial focus on the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
