Harvest Health & Recreation (CSE: HARV) announced late Friday night the resignation of two key members of their team. Director Frank Bedu-Addo and President Steve Gutterman have left their positions at the firm effective immediately.
While Bedu-Addo has left the firm to focus on other business endeavors, Gutterman has left for personal reasons – both rather boilerplate explanations for the sudden departure of two key individuals.
Gutterman, whom joined Harvest Health late in 2018, was appointed to the role of President last October. At the time, company founder and CEO Steve White stated, “Bringing Steve on board as President is one of our greatest coups to date. His years in high profile leadership roles at companies like E*TRADE and Mobile Accord give him the operational insights and executive experience.” The quick exit is suspect, given Gutterman’s statement within the release, “I’ve loved my time at Harvest, and I’ll remain an ardent supporter. I’ll be rooting for the company from my home in Denver.”
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Furthermore, Harvest Health has not indicated that Gutterman’s role is in need of a replacement. While the firm commented that they have initiated a process to replace Bedu-Addo, no such statement was given for Gutterman’s role. The lack of a search being initiated suggests that the position may already be filled – curious, given ex-Canopy CEO Bruce Linton’s recent announcement of his search for a multi state operator to become involved with.
Ties between Linton and Harvest Health have been documented in the past, with Harvest Health confirmed to have once been in discussions with Canopy Growth prior to the Acreage Holdings deal. Harvest Health CEO Steve White has also publicly praised Linton, indicating that “he is always one step ahead.” Thus a potential role for Linton at the multi state operator isn’t as far out of a suggestion as one might think. The recent resignations at Harvest may be in an effort to make way for the potential new hire if sector commentators are to be proven correct.
Whichever the case may be, Harvest Health needs to act quickly, as the equity has continued to fall into the month of September – from $7.49 on September 4, to that of $5.39 as of yesterdays close.
Update: Corrected statement indicating Harvest was previously in discussions with Canopy Growth. MarketWatch had confirmed previously that these discussions did in fact occur.
Information for this briefing was found via Sedar and Harvest Health and Recreation. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
