iAnthus Hires Acclaimed Brand Building and Marketing Veteran as Chief Marketing Officer

News provided by

Apr 15, 2019, 06:30 ET

NEW YORK and TORONTO, April 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. ("iAnthus" or the "Company") (CSE: IAN, OTCQX: ITHUF), which owns, operates, and partners with best-in-class regulated cannabis operations across the United States, is pleased to announce Neil Calvesbert as Chief Marketing Officer responsible for creating the brand vision and strategies to execute the companies growth objectives across brand, retail and consumer experience.

Prior to joining iAnthus, Mr. Calvesbert served as the Chief Growth & Marketing Officer for Nicopure Labs and the Vice President of Global Marketing for Monster Energy Beverages, where he leveraged the Monster Energy brand to deliver inspirational brand stories and lifestyle-focused experiences through strategic partnerships with high profile athletes, musicians, influencers, global properties and events with a disruptive approach. He launched new categories and products, which contributed to the brand's rapid growth and helped drive it to become the dominant energy drink in the U.S., globally distributed in over 100 countries with annual sales rising from $1.4 to $3 billion and a unique global army of dedicated, loyal fans.

Before joining Monster Energy, Mr. Calvesbert's career centered around the creation, leadership and rapid growth of iconic consumer-facing brands in the lifestyle driven action sports industry. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Fox Racing, where he transformed the entrepreneurial U.S. focused business into a global powerhouse and the dominant market leader in over 55 countries as the brand of choice for the world's elite action sports athletes.

Hadley Ford, CEO of iAnthus, said, "iAnthus looks forward to creating and rolling out its national retail and product brands under Neil's leadership. Branded products will distance themselves as the true driver of growth and value within the cannabis space. Neil brings to iAnthus a wealth of experience in building and growing global brands, having proven his ability across multiple product categories. We look forward to seeing him put those skills to work on behalf of iAnthus and helping us to further grow the company into an industry powerhouse."

"Cannabis is the type of blank canvas that brand visionaries like me usually only dream of. Creatively, it provides a once ever opportunity to pioneer and shape a brand-new market category, including the messages and experiences we deliver to patients and consumers through our products and dispensaries," said Mr. Calvesbert. "Our plan to accomplish this is quite simple – we will create iconic brands that our customers can identify and engage with through refreshing retail experiences in our dispensaries to help them better understand cannabis and how to include it in their daily routines. Life is for enjoying, and my passion is to create something timeless and unforgettable that ultimately helps people smile."

About iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc.

iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. owns and operates best-in-class licensed cannabis cultivation, processing and dispensary facilities throughout the United States, providing investors diversified exposure to the U.S. regulated cannabis industry. Founded by entrepreneurs with decades of experience in operations, investment banking, corporate finance, law and health care services, iAnthus provides a unique combination of capital and hands-on operating and management expertise. iAnthus currently has operations in 11 states, and operates 21 dispensaries (AZ-4, MA-1, MD-3, FL-3, NY-2, CO-1, VT-1 and NM-6 where iAnthus has minority ownership). For more information, visit www.iAnthusCapital.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in iAnthus' periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should, our vision" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements including product launches, dispensary locations, facility build-outs, and other statements of fact.

Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. iAnthus disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and iAnthus does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

SOURCE iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc.