BevCanna Appoints Former PepsiCo Executive as President
Highly experienced leader strengthens newly expanded health and wellness; beverage and natural products company with decades of consumer packaged goods expertise
Diversified health and wellness; beverage and natural products company, BevCanna Enterprises Inc. (CSE:BEV, Q:BVNNF, FSE:7BC) is pleased to announce that leading consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) executive Melise Panetta has been appointed to the role of President of the expanding company.
Ms. Panetta is a highly experienced sales, marketing and commercial leader within the CPG sector, having held senior and executive roles at global companies such as General Mills (NYSE:GIS), PepsiCo (Nasdaq:PEP), and S.C. Johnson. Ms. Panetta’s broad experience in both the CPG and cannabis sectors position her well to lead BevCanna in its evolution into a fully diversified health and wellness; beverage and natural products company.
Melise joined the team in the fall to build our international commercial strategy, and is now the perfect choice to lead our transformation into a globally-focused diversified beverage and natural products company. We’ve already capitalized on her significant expertise to accelerate our strategic planning for the newly amalgamated company, and we’ll continue to leverage this leadership as she takes on the President role.
Marcello Leone, Founder and CEO of BevCanna
“I’ve been thrilled to work with BevCanna in this period of intense growth and look forward to taking on this leadership role as we focus on both domestic and global expansion,” said Ms. Panetta. “With the recent acquisition of Naturo Group, the continued expansion of our Pure Therapy platform, and the recently announced approval of our Health Canada Standard Processing License, BevCanna is well-positioned to build a leading position in the rapidly growing cannabis and wellness sectors.
“We have a number of well-defined growth initiatives underway,” continued Ms. Panetta. “In the cannabis sector, our focus is on the launch of the market-leading Keef Brands as well as developing a robust roster of white-label clients at our newly licensed facility. In the wellness sector we’re continuing to expand Naturo Group’s CPG white-label clientele, driving growth of the TRACE brand both domestically and internationally, as well as continuing to expand our popular Pure Therapy platform. This is a truly transformative time for BevCanna.”
Ms. Panetta succeeds Martino Ciambrelli in the role of President. Mr. Ciambrelli will continue to lead the company through his seat on the Board of Directors, as well as his continued position as Senior Person in Charge on BevCanna’s Health Canada Standard Processing License. Mr. Ciambrelli’s continued involvement in strategy, sales, and overall corporate initiatives will ensure a smooth transition of Ms. Panetta.
About Melise Panetta
Melise Panetta is a seasoned marketing and sales executive with a track record of delivering exceptional results and leading highly impactful teams. Melise’s expertise comes from almost 20 years of leadership experience in large multi-national corporations where she led globally recognized brands, innovation strategy, commercialization as well as customer development.
Prior to Melise’s tenure at BevCanna, Melise held progressively senior positions at General Mills, PepsiCo, and SC Johnson, as well as in the cannabis space including the roles of Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Her innovative thinking has
resulted in new ways to break down consumer and customer barriers. Whether it be relaunching Tostitos in Canada, managing 100+ SKUs in an innovation pipeline for PepsiCo or elevating SC Johnson’s relationship with key retail customers, Melise is known for employing unique strategies to deliver results.
Melise earned her Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario and her MBA from York University. Among her numerous business awards and recognitions, Melise has earned a number of Best New Product Awards as well as Strategy Magazine’s Shopper Innovation award.