Phoena CEO Guyatt steps down, Melissen takes helm of pot company

Phonea Inc. says chief executive Greg Guyatt has resigned. Employees work with cannabis products at the packaging and extraction facility in Vaughan, Ont., on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018.
Phonea Inc. says chief executive Greg Guyatt has resigned. Employees work with cannabis products at the packaging and extraction facility in Vaughan, Ont., on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

VAUGHAN, Ont. - Phoena Inc. says chief executive Greg Guyatt has resigned.

The Vaughan, Ont. cannabis company says Guyatt's resignation was effective Feb. 24 and comes three years after he joined the business.

Guyatt is leaving the company behind the Liiv, SYNR.G, Xscape and Estora brands to "pursue new challenges and opportunities."

He has been replaced by Corné Melissen, who owns Phoena's majority shareholder, Kenzoll B.V.

Phoena, previously known as CannTrust Holdings Inc., was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange in May 2020 and filed for creditor protection after being found growing cannabis in allegedly unlicensed rooms between 2018 and 2019.

It has since been working to stage a comeback and exited creditor protection in March, after receiving $17 million in financing from Kenzoll B.V., subsidiary of Netherlands-based private equity investment firm.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2023.