Levitee Labs (CSE:LVT) Inc. has announced the appointment of Azim Qazi as its head of eCommerce and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).
In this role, the company said, Qazi - who has over 20 years of experience - will use his broad expertise in dynamic retail marketplaces, business development and supply chain management to oversee company-wide CPG operations, beginning with the recently launched product lineups of MONKE Nutraceuticals, and Earth Circle Organics — which was acquired this month by Levitee for approximately $3.4 million — adding over 180 supplements and superfoods SKUs to the company’s portfolio of products.
READ: Levitee Labs appoints Dr Fady Hannah-Shmouni as its chief medical and scientific officer and president of Levitee Clinics and Pharmacies
The company said it has also launched the first two products from MONKE Nutraceuticals, mushroom-based adaptogenic supplements branded MONKE Mind and MONKE Body. It said Qazi will be responsible for leading accretive acquisitions for the company within CPG, while managing omnichannel sales growth and optimization, identifying new opportunities, creating tools to increase visibility, developing future network simulations, and enhancing logistics through data, predictive capabilities, and process improvements.
“Levitee is an incredible opportunity, as it is truly at an inflection point with innovative products being introduced in the popular nutraceuticals and burgeoning mushroom markets,” Qazi said in a statement. “The ecommerce space is constantly fluid, and I look forward to utilizing my skill set and understanding of vendor, supply chain and marketplace management with a premier marketing team to ensure the success of Levitee’s brands today and in the future.”
Pouya Farmand, chief executive officer at Levitee Labs commented: “Azim’s background is impressive, starting with his early career mastering purchasing models at financial institutions in London to recently architecting a vendor-managed inventory framework in dropship ordering and enterprise resource planning system.
“His knowledge, network, and leadership will prove invaluable across the full spectrum of our CPG businesses, from sourcing materials to reaching domestic and international consumers. He is a world-class warehousing and distribution specialist with a deep understanding of their impacts on P&L and meeting key performance indicators, and we’re thrilled to have him join our team.”
Prior to Levitee Labs, Qazi worked with Cymax Stores and Cymax Group in multiple leadership positions including category manager at Cymax Stores during which he developed objectives and key results for key categories representing 50% of total revenue, managed 32 separate $1 million vendors, negotiated marketing promotions, analyzed PPC campaigns and grew category revenue by 39% while increasing margins by adding vendors and partnering with vendors on promotions and inventory allocation.
He also held the position of marketplace manager at Cymax Stores where he led a team of analysts, project managers, developers, and engineers with full P&L responsibility for the business unit, and improved marketplace revenue by 20% while increasing contribution margin by 4% through prioritizing high-margin items for marketing activity and eliminating poor-performing SKUs. And he was also the business development manager at Cymax Group where he oversaw the business unit with full P&L statement responsibility, established third-party logistics fulfillment housing network across North America, executed warehousing and distribution of 100 high-velocity home furnishing products, developed purchaser and supplier relationships while managing freight forwarders and customs brokers, and facilitated US expansion for international manufacturers.
Qazi began his professional career as procurement executive, Prudential PLC (LSE:PRU) where he generated approximately $6.6 million in cost savings through successful global reverse auctions. Subsequently, he served as inventory & logistics manager, United Furniture Warehouse where he directed company-wide purchasing and logistics strategy, oversaw a $60 million annual budget, 87 stores, and 30 vendors across North America and Asia.
He earned a BA in Printing & Publishing with Honors from Nottingham Trent University; MCIPS in Purchasing & Supply Chain Management from the University of West London; and an MBA in International Business from Hertfordshire University. He is a Certified Professional Logistician (P.Log) from Canadian Institute of Logistics; an Accredited Member of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply; and Accredited Member of Canadian Institute of Logistics.
Levitee Labs is establishing itself as a leader in the integrative wellness space. Through leveraging an M&A regimen that focuses on the centralization of complementary integrative wellness assets, the company aims to transform mental health and addiction treatments through the integration of psychedelic medicines and therapies.
The company’s current portfolio of assets includes MONKE Nutraceuticals, a company specialized in developing and distributing premium functional mushroom supplements sold via online portals; ACT Medical Centres, a group of five operating pain and addiction treatment clinics in Alberta; Block MD, the first telemedicine company in Alberta to receive provincial approval for telemedicine prescriptions in the addiction treatment space; three pharmacies operating in Alberta specialized in filling prescriptions for patients with substance abuse disorders, mental health conditions, and chronic pain; and Earth Circle Organics, a direct-to-consumer and wholesaler of supplements and superfood products with 180+ SKUs in its product lineup across three brands.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com