New Leaf Ventures completes acquisition of High Profile Holdings

VANCOUVER — New Leaf Ventures Inc., has completed the acquisition of High Profile Holdings Corp., by way of a statutory three-cornered amalgamation.

High Profile began by operating its own retail stores under the Urban Canna banner at the onset of legalization and the management team gained knowledge and experience around the evolution of both cannabis and its consumers. These industry and consumer behavior insights informed a successful and buildout of five retail locations in Alberta. High Profile subsequently sold the retail stores to a privately held Canadian corporation that now holds more than 40 stores throughout the country.

Now, with the ability to establish their store-within-a-store installations the High Profile management team are focused on providing a guided retail experience to access the brand’s rare and curated strains in dozens of stores across Canada.

Jason Garnett will be joining New Leaf’s board of directors and initially acting as Chief Strategy Officer, while Dean Medwid will take on the role of President and Chief Operating Officer.

Garnett is a entrepreneur and corporate executive with years of experience founding and leading consumer packaged goods and beverage companies in Canada and the United States, including Seattle’s Best Coffee Canada (acquired by Starbucks Corp. in 2007), e-grocery platform Spud.ca (operated by Freshlocal Solutions Inc.) and craft licensed producer Experion Biotechnologies Inc. (acquired by TSX-listed The Valens Company Inc. in 2021). Over his nearly 30-year career, he has been recognized with business awards and accolades, including Profit 100’s Top 100 in Canada five years in a row, BC Business Top 30 Under 30 and Top 40 Under 40, as well as a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Garnett currently serves as CEO and a director of CSE-listed Xebra Brands Ltd.

Medwid is a senior operation executive with over 30 years of experience in both public and private markets with a focus on scalable process engineering, brand development and strategic partnerships. He has been recognized with business awards and accolades, including Profit 100’s Top 100 in Canada five years in a row while a partner in Seattle’s Best Coffee Canada, and was recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40. Medwid has a demonstrated history of increasing corporate performance through the management of process design, customer relationships and strategic planning along with a focused initiative of data-driven change management. He recently launched Fourth Dimension Bio-tech, a supplements company focused on manufacturing consumer products utilizing specific cannabis generated isolates to support daily health regimes.

“We are pleased to bring this acquisition to a close so that we may begin building another brand while leveraging new partnerships,” said Mike Stier, CEO and Director of New Leaf. He continued, “adding the experience and expertise of Mr. Garnett and Mr. Medwid is of great benefit to New Leaf as we continue to expand, and I look forward to working with them.”