Benchmark Botanics Inc. Announces Results of AGM and Appointment of Chief Executive Officer
Newsfile Corp.
Updated
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 16, 2018) - Benchmark Botanics, Inc. (CSE: BBT) (FSE: BBW) ("Benchmark" or the "Company"). Benchmark is pleased to announce that the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders held on October 12, 2018 (the "Meeting"). A total of 76,612,838 common shares were voted at the Meeting, representing 54.14% of the 141,514,642 common shares of the Company that were issued and outstanding as at the record date.
All the resolutions put forward by the Company were approved at the Meeting. Manning Elliott LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, was re-appointed auditor for the ensuing year. The number of directors for the ensuring year has been set at five. Messrs. Ping (Johnson) Zhang, Claude (Cliff) Stowell, Haifeng Liu, George Dorin and William Ying were elected directors of the Company and will hold office until the next annual meeting of the Company or until their earlier resignation or removal.
At a meeting of the board of directors of the Company held immediately following the AGM on October 12, 2018, Mr. George Dorin was elected Chairman of the Board; Mr. William Ying was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Company; Mr. Haifeng Liu was re-appointed President; Ms. Jin Kuang was re-appointed interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary; and Mr. Claude (Cliff) Stowell was re-appointed CEO of Potanicals Green Growers Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Mr. Johnson Zhang, Co-Founder and a Director of the Company, stepped down from his role as Chief Executive Officer.
"It has been a great honour to serve as the CEO of Benchmark since its inception. I take great pride in our team's collective accomplishments and the exceptional progress we have made in such a short period of time," said Johnson. "At the dawn of opening of the recreational market in Canada and the numerous overseas opportunities that our Company is positioned to capitalize on, the timing is perfect to bring William on board."
Mr. William Ying brings over 20 years of experience in capital markets and strategic planning to the Company. Since 1996, he has served at various financial institutions including Yorkton Securities, Blackmont Capital, Jordan Capital and Mackie Research Capital. In those roles, William has provided growth investment opportunities to accredited investors globally (institutional, corporate and individual), as well as advised growth-oriented companies in capital raising, M&A, corporate development and other corporate finance activities. William also participates in the Mentor in Business program at Simon Fraser University (SFU Beedie School of Business) as a mentor to share his business experience with future business leaders.
"The Board is confident that, with William's track record of strong leadership, deep operational knowledge and focus on delivering shareholder value, he will be the perfect compliment to our leadership team and the best candidate to lead our Company into the next phase of our rapid growth," Johnson continued.
"I am truly honored and humbled to be installed at this position and to lead Benchmark at such an important point in the Company's evolution. The opportunities that lie ahead are limitless," said William, "I look forward to working closely with you and lead the company to the next stage. We have a great team in place and I am thrilled to be leading the corporate strategy and vision to drive our venture forward."
"Benchmark is in an exceptional position today thanks to the vision and dedication of Johnson Zhang," said Haifeng (Leo) Liu. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, our shareholders and our staff, I would like to acknowledge and thank Johnson for his many contributions, tireless efforts and for being the key driver of our growth and success to date."
About Benchmark
Benchmark is a publicly traded company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is positioned to provide financing, partnership and acquisition opportunities to licensed producers and ancillary businesses within the global cannabis industry.
In November 2017, the Company acquired its first subsidiary, Potanicals Green Growers Inc. Potanicals Green Growers possesses a Health Canada license to cultivate and sell cannabis as an Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes (ACMPR) Licensed Producer. In its first phase of operations, Potanicals is currently cultivating in its 12,700 square foot PHASE I indoor production facility. Benchmark is pursuing additional sites to retrofit for large scale cultivation expansion.
The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. This news release includes forward-looking statements with respect to the business and future objectives of the Company, including the generation of revenue and sales of cannabis in the adult-use market under the Cannabis Act (Canada). There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including risks related to: (i) the facility and Potanicals' operations; (ii) adverse market conditions; (iii) the ability of the Company to complete financings in the future; (iv) dependence on suppliers and skilled labour; (v) government regulation and compliance with the ACMPR and the Cannabis Act; (vi) managing and maintaining growth; (vii) unfavourable publicity or consumer perception litigation; and (viii) competition. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including the risk factors discussed in this news release and in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and on the CSE website. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
