Our People

“Our people are united by a sense of purpose and a passion for the land and our plants”

– Jason Taylor

Mark Aiken

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Aiken began his career in sales positions with organizations to include Rema Tip Top AG, Vortex Aquatic Structures, and Plombco for whom Mr. Aiken grew annual sales by 82% in six years from CAD $17 million to CAD $31 million. In 2009, Mr. Aiken was awarded an MBA from Queens University. From 2014 through 2019 Mr. Aiken served as a management consultant for the Automotive sector, across North America focusing on strategy, marketing and distribution growth in preparation for M&A activities.

Most recently, Mr. Aiken was Vice President of Strategic Business Development for HEXO Corp., currently Canada’s #1 Licensed Producer by Market Share and an international player in medicinal and recreational cannabis.  Mr. Aiken played a pivotal role in facilitating key CPG relationships and multiple international supply agreements for expansions into Israel, Australia, and South Africa growing HEXO’s international sales by 320%.

Ryan Smith

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Smith is a finance professional with a diversified portfolio spanning multiple industries.

He previously held senior positions with one of the largest credit unions in Canada, most recently managing a commercial portfolio in excess of $250 million.

He gained experience in the telecommunications sector through senior financial roles with Axia NetMedia Corporation – the Calgary-based operator of Alberta’s SuperNet that was subsequently acquired by Bell – and KMM, a U.S.-based national provider of integrated logistics and network services for AT&T, Verizon and Ericsson.

At both organizations, Mr. Smith played a key role in strategic investment initiatives and supported accounting functions.

A former NCAA athlete, Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in finance, with the highest distinction, from Keiser University in Florida.

Nicco Dehaan

BOD | Chief Operating Officer, Master Grower

Mr. Dehaan currently oversees CLC’s cultivation and agricultural efforts serving as a Master Grower.

Dehaan has an extensive agricultural background, having been involved with a large, privately held ranch in Grand Forks, BC for over twenty years.

For the past ten years, Dehaan has developed a number of unique cannabis strains under various medical cannabis licences issued by Health Canada.

These unique strains include a number of proprietary, high-yielding outdoor cannabis strains that are suitable for commercial farming.

Nicco successfully developed these strains while working under and complying with each of the MMAR, MMPR and ACMPR regulations.

Steve Bowering

Master Grower

Mr. Bowering supervises CLC’s cultivation efforts serving as a Master Grower and is responsible for leading the company’s breeding and cross-breeding programs.

Bowering has over 20 years of intensive experience in horticulture and has gained specialized expertise with various cultivation methods, grow facility design and operations within licensed facilities.

This experience has enabled Steve to consistently improve cultivation yields and quality while reducing operational costs by realizing efficiencies through continuous design and process improvements.

Tory Neufeld

Director of Quality Assurance

Mr. Neufeld leads and oversees the quality assurance team at Christina Lake Cannabis, and also works with the cultivation and processing departments to continuously improve quality culture and understanding, co-operation, consistency and proper documentation across the site.

Tory has a degree in Human Ecology: Nutrition Option from the University of Manitoba which has provided him with knowledge in food safety, manufacturing and testing.

He has worked for three Licenced Producers and has worked in the cannabis industry for over six years.

Tory began exclusively in medical cultivation, processing and sales and, in recent years, has worked in the recreational and wholesale markets.

Andrew Hill

Director of Regulatory Compliance, RP

Mr. Hill currently oversees CLC’s regulatory compliance with Health Canada and other agencies.

He previously worked for a provincial oil and gas regulator, working in regulatory compliance of oilfield waste management facilities, which included developing new policies and regulations.

He has also worked as an energy economist providing market analysis on energy commodities, which included providing production forecasts and analysis where he was a three time contributing author to an annual energy market publication.

Mr. Hill earned a BA in Economics from the University of Calgary.

Salvatore Milia

BOD | Head of R&D

Mr. Milia is a serial entrepreneur with his most recent effort being the founding, building, and eventual sale of Backbone Data Vault Ltd to a major Canadian data center operator. As founder and President, he grew this business from inception to exit.

Joel Dumaresq

BOD

Mr. Dumaresq has an extensive background in finance and investment banking including his current tenure as Managing Director of Pashleth Merchant Capital since 2004 and previously with RBC Dominion Securities for over 15 years.

He also has significant experience in the natural resources sector, having served as President of Greenwater Forest Products for over 9 years.

Joel obtained a BA degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of British Columbia, is the former BC Chapter Chair of Young President’s Organization, a current board member of the Vancouver Police Foundation, and a recipient of the Star of Courage.

Mervin Boychuk

BOD

Mervin Boychuk is a serial entrepreneur who has founded, built and sold four businesses over his 35-year career.

In 1973, Mr. Boychuk joined South Rock Ltd. (“South Rock”), a private road construction company, and subsequently became President & CEO in 1980. Under his leadership, South Rock grew from 20 employees to over 350, with annual revenues in excess of CAD $180 million, before subsequently being acquired by Aecon Group Inc. in 2009.

During his tenure at South Rock, Boychuk co-founded RecycleWest, a waste oil collection and supply company, which was later acquired by Newalta in 1995.

In 1996, Mr. Boychuk co-founded EnviroWest, which serviced the British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan vacuum truck sludge and waste oil collection markets. EnviroWest was sold to GFL Environmental in 2010, a large waste management company that employs over 8,850 people.

Mr. Boychuk is a significant shareholder in Christina Lake Cannabis and continues to be active in the family-owned waste treatment business in Calgary and Edmonton.

Gil Playford

BOD | Chairman of Audit & Finance Committee

Mr Playford is an internationally accomplished senior corporate executive and entrepreneur in the mining and resource sectors

Mr. Playford’s career began with Union Carbide Corp. He quickly ascended the ranks to hold multiple senior positions over a 25-year tenure to include Managing Director in Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Union Carbide Canada, and Chief Financial Officer for Union Carbide in its New York office.

After Union Carbide, Mr. Playford became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UCAR Carbon, a carbon and graphite company formed in a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation. UCAR Carbon was renamed “GrafTech” and taken public under Mr. Playford’s leadership as Chairman and CEO, with GrafTech presently trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Transitioning to mining, Mr. Playford founded LionOre Mining (“LionOre”), a producer of gold and nickel in Africa and Australia. Under Mr. Playford’s leadership in the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman roles of LionOre, the firm was sold to the Russian mining conglomerate Norilsk Nickel in an all-cash deal valued at CAD $6.8 billion. Mr. Playford holds a Bachelor of Engineering from McGill University, and a Master of Business Administration from York University in Toronto.

Mr. Playford contributes valuable insights in the areas of rapidly driving growth for production-centric enterprises.

Jay McMillan

BOD | Chairman

Leveraging 25 years of international markets experience, Mr. McMillan has an extensive background in new market development and strategic engagements with Fortune 500 organizations in the consumer-packaged goods, technology, and consumer electronics spaces.

Mr. McMillan’s most recent role was as Chief Development Officer with HEXO Corp., a leading Canadian Licensed Producer of cannabis, where he played a pivotal role during the 2010s and 2020s in growing HEXO to be the top Licensed Producer in the country by market share.

At HEXO, Mr. McMillan identified strategic business development opportunities by way of M&A, joint ventures, and key partnerships. Furthermore, Mr. McMillan was responsible for research and development, innovation, and commercialization.

Mr. McMillan continues to participate in the expanding cannabis market as a Principal of UberGreen; a cannabis consulting firm focused on growth strategies, business model innovation, market consolidation, and product development.