The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. (TSX: FIRE and OTCQX: SPRWF) is searching for a new CEO. 

The company announced Monday its CEO and director, Navdeep Dhaliwal, was out and Colin Moore, a Supreme board member and former Starbucks Coffee Canada president, had been appointed as the interim CEO and director. 

The company is fortunate to have Moore stepping in during this transition, board chair Michael La Brier said in a statement. 

Supreme did not respond to interview requests to clarify if Dhaliwal had been fired, or how long the search for the new CEO is expected to take. 

We welcome former $SBUX Canada President Colin Moore as our new Interim President & CEO. Learn more: https://t.co/VpG4P2FNmC #FollowTheFire $FIRE #cannabis pic.twitter.com/2Un3VrEG8G

— SUPREME. (@TheSupremeFIRE) January 6, 2020

Moore is a corporate food and beverage heavyweight, who moved over to cannabis in May 2018 when he was appointed to Supreme’s board of directors. 

“Going forward, we have a tremendous opportunity to drive profitable growth and cash flow by expanding our market position across all market segments and with new strains and product forms,” Moore said in the statement. “Greater efficiencies and speed to market will come by rightsizing our production, overhead and capital.” 

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Colin Moore, Starbucks’ former ‘president of the Americas’

Moore worked as the president of Starbucks Canada from 2002 to 2011 and is partially responsible for putting a Starbucks on every corner, according the the company press release.

In that time, retail locations boomed to 1,180, from 315, and grew to bringing in over $1 billion in annual sales, the release stated. In 2008, Moore also was appointed Starbucks “president of the Americas” when he ran the Frappuccino empire in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America too.

Moore has also worked as the president of the Mosaic Group, Inc. and worked for PepsiCo for 22 years. 

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Navdeep Dhaliwal departs

But what about Dhaliwal? The former Supreme president, who became CEO in September 2018 when he and then-CEO John Fowler swapped roles, is only described to have “departed the company,” in the press release. He is still listed as a director on Supreme’s website. 

Dhaliwal is credited for leading Supreme’s capital raising efforts, strategy, international investments and initiatives in a 2018 press release. 

Supreme’s stock has been in a steady decline since March 2019, falling to $0.61 today from $2.30. The stock dropped two cents from yesterday’s close at $0.63, following news of the shakeup. 

Cover photo by Matheus Ferrero from Wikimedia Commons. 

michelle@mugglehead.com

@missmishelle