The Green Organic Dutchman ( TGODF) shares have stabilized in recent sessions after an initial drop on the move by the Canada-based
company to replace Robert Anderson as CEO because of his undisclosed illness.
Investors bid down the stock by about 5% to C$6.18 a share on July 3, after the company named Brian Athaide, formerly the CFO of the company, as CEO. Athaide initially joined Green Organic Dutchman in March after working for more than 25 years at Procter & Gamble ( PG) including time as the conglomerate's CFO of operations in Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia.
At last check, the stock traded a C$6.13, after stabilizing in recent sessions. Unlike other companies with sharp share drops after a CEO leaves, investors appear to have been relatively kind to The Green Organic Dutchman.
Athaide told Real Money the company remains well-capitalized with about $230 million of cash on its balance sheet after its IPO
earlier this year.
The company plans to tap the consumer products marketing playbook to grow its business.
Athaide said he plans continue the work of Green Organic Dutchman to become the "Whole Foods" of the cannabis industry with a focus on organically grown cannabis.
"We see The Green Organic Dutchman as first and foremost a consumer packaged goods company," he said in an email on Tuesday. "We know from other categories that organic products command a premium, and the cannabis space will be no different. We have received strong consumer feedback in several markets that The Green Organic Dutchman branding effectively conveys that premium."
Along with its banded cannabis, Green Organic Dutchman plans to launch cannanbis-enhanced beverages made without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
"As they move up the value chain to higher value-added oils, vapes, edibles and beverages, consumers demand clean products...[with no artificial ingredients.] TGOD will meet that need."
Julia Golubovskaya has been named interim CFO after working as vice president of finance for the company. Golubovskaya's more than 18 years in consumer products includes time at Proctor & Gamble in Canada, the USA and Russia.
Looking ahead, Athaide said the company has several options for further financing if needed. Aurora Cannabis ( ACBFF) , an investor and strategic partner, has the right to increase its share in The Green Organic Dutchman by 8%.
In a July 9 letter to shareholders, Athaide said the company had planned a more gradual transition for Anderson before the end of 2018. But instead the company was left with a more "abrupt and untimely" change.
A company spokesperson declined to comment on the nature of Anderson's illness. The company said he will be available to assist as required and management wishes him a successful recovery and that he may join the company in a "senior position" at some point in the future.
Anderson became CEO of the company in November 2016. He also has been CEO of Access Capital since 2009, according to his bio in the company's IPO prospectus.
