Hill Street Beverage Company Inc (CVE:BEER) (OTCMKTS:HSEEF) announced Friday that its board of directors has appointed veteran financier Jack Fraser as chairman.
The board also separated the role of CEO and chairman into two independent functions, adhering to best practices and improving its corporate governance.
Hill Street noted that Fraser is a serial growth venture operator and financer, with more than 30 years of experience in digital media and e-commerce.
READ: Hill Street Beverage Company well-positioned for growth in 2021 as it wraps up "well executed" fiscal 1Q
"The appointment of Jack Fraser to the role of Chairman of the Board is indicative of our firm and resolute belief in adhering to the best practices in corporate governance as we reach the point of bringing our cannabis products to market,” said CEO Terry Donnelly in a statement.
“Jack's tremendous input to navigating our company through incredibly difficult waters during the pandemic, and his personal contributions to the success of closing our transformational deal with Lexaria, showed our board, and me personally, that we had an incredible talent, who was willing to step up and provide that next level of guidance, coaching and leadership that our company needs to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us for our shareholders.”
Donnelly added: “His experience will be invaluable as we accelerate into the next chapter of our growth in both B2C and B2B cannabis products."
Since December 2019, Fraser has been a partner with BDC Capital's Late-Stage Growth Coinvest Fund. He has served as a board director of numerous private, public, and public-private partnership groups and as an operating partner for various private equity groups. He currently serves on various company boards that focus on digital commerce, FinTech and SaaS.
He began his career in corporate banking with RBC and BMO and then moved into business operations with several high-growth companies in Canada, the US, and the UK. He supported the development of some of Canada's most recognized digital retail brands and has held various executive roles, including COO & CFO, and most recently as the head of finance with SSENSE, a Quebec-based global luxury fashion e-commerce retailer.
Proposed private placement
In other company news, Hill Street also announced its intention to complete a non-brokered private placement of units at $0.08 each.
Each unit is comprised of one common share and one warrant, and each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share at $0.11 each for a period of three years from the date of closing.
The size of the offering has not been finalized at this time, however, but Hill Street said it has secured initial commitments totaling about $2.5 million.
The company anticipates closing the private placement in one or more tranches, with the first tranche anticipated to close in early February 2021.
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