Former Constellation Brands CEO David Klein replaced Mark Zekulin as CEO of Canopy Growth earlier this year. Canopy’s move makes a lot of sense since Constellation Brands holds an approximately 36% stake in the company. This also hardens up the control of the Corona beer manufacturer on a company where it lost more than $1 billion in investment.
Since Klein took over in January, he was faced with the responsibility of steering one of the leading cannabis companies across the globe in a challenging time. The start of 2020 was tough on the industry – both private and public companies struggle as they fight with dwindling sales and complex regulations. Likewise, they have to deal with investors losing confidence in them. And with Covid-19 combined with economic fallout worldwide, things got even harder.
Like with the majority of businesses today, Canopy Growth took a hit from the pandemic. Not only did it missed its revenue goals by nearly 20%, but its stock dived as well. In fact, some analysts even changed the company’s stock ratings from buy to sell.
According to Klein, during his interview with Business Insider, his focus over the past few months was on cutting down costs more aggressively. He also wants to address some of the previous goals set by Canopy’s former CEO Brue Linton, to dominate all cannabis global markets. Klein said to him, “it’s executing in Canada, it’s not being diffuse and trying to do stuff all over the world.”
Canopy Growth sells cannabis primarily in Canada. His plan for the company right now is to focus on Canadian, German, and US markets instead of proceeding to push in all legal markets of cannabis globally. Additionally, he addressed the opportunities the company overlooked this year. He said that if they want to turn those market insights into profits more effectively, they have to understand their consumers better.
What Klein Is Bringing to the Table
David Klein has plenty of experience under his belt, serving in numerous senior leadership roles over his 14 years stint at Constellation Brands. These include a solid financial orientation, extensive experience in the alcoholic beverage and CPG industry, as well as operational experience in highly regulated markets in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Mexico.
Moreover, Klein is an expert strategist. He has extensive knowledge of how to develop consumer brands while supporting an operational order over a classified production footprint. On top of that, he’s a robust leader, boasting a proven track record in terms of producing diverse teams that perform at their utmost level.
Klein is not a stranger to Canopy Growth since he served as one of the Board of Directors of the company for more than a chair. Because of this familiarity with how the current strategy and leadership of the company works, Klein will be able to integrate right away. And that’s a massive advantage in the fast-paced cannabis industry.
The new CEO of Canopy Growth said that he aims to “develop brands that strongly resonate with consumers, and to capture the market opportunity before us.” He also added that under his leadership, Canopy “will drive sustainable, industry-leading growth that benefits employees, shareholders, and the communities in which we operate.”
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