MediPharm’s director nominees offer the right mix of experience, independence, and integrity to protect shareholder value and sustain the Company’s positive momentum. Under the current Board, MediPharm has improved financial results, completed a successful turnaround, and expanded global growth through the acquisition of VIVO Cannabis.
This is not the time to hand control to an unproven dissident group with no credible plan. Support the Board that’s delivering results.
Place of Residence:
Ontario, Canada
Director Since:
August 4, 2020
Chris Halyk
Principal Occupation and Biographical Information
Mr. Halyk has 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience including 33 years with Johnson & Johnson. Among his many career highlights, he served as: Vice-President, Sales and Marketing and a member of the Janssen Management Board with responsibility for innovations in direct-to-consumer advertising, patient education and sales force automation; Managing Director of Ortho Biotech, the biopharmaceutical division of Janssen Inc.; and from 2006 until his retirement in 2019 as the President of Janssen Inc. (Canada) where under his leadership, the company became the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada. During his tenure, his accomplishments included, bringing innovative products, services and solutions to market along with new technologies and treatments in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious diseases and vaccines, cardiovascular and metabolism and pulmonary hypertension. Mr. Halyk holds an Honours Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School at Western University. He served as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Rx&D, the industry association for Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (now named Innovative Medicines Canada) from 2012 until 2013. Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Halyk worked for pharmaceutical company Warner-Lambert in Toronto. Mr. Halyk has been a director since August 4, 2020.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- Member of the Board
Attendance: 5 of 6 - Member of the Compensation Committee
Attendance: 4 of 4 - Member of the Audit Committee(3)
Attendance: N/A - Member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee(4)
Attendance: N/A
Attendance Total: 9 of 10 (90%)
Other Public Board Memberships
None
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
743,301(2)
Notes:
- Represents Common Shares, Options, RSUs and any other convertible securities, on a fully diluted basis.
- As at the date of the Circular, Mr. Halyk holds 264,730 Common Shares directly. He also holds Options exercisable into an aggregate of 300,000 Common Shares, and RSUs entitling him to receive 178,571 Common Shares.
- Mr. Halyk joined the Audit Committee on April 21, 2025 and therefore did not attend any meetings during 2024.
- The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee was constituted by the Board on April 21, 2025 and therefore did not hold any meetings during 2024.
Place of Residence:
Hong Kong
Director Since:
July 13, 2020
Chris Taves
Principal Occupation and Biographical Information
Chris Taves is a Managing Director and Head of Asia for BMO Capital Markets. In this role which commenced January 2024, he is responsible for the strategic oversight, leadership, and governance of the capital markets business for Bank of Montreal in Asia.
Mr. Taves brings nearly 30 years of customer facing experience covering corporate and institutional clients across a wide range of products, including derivatives, investments, and corporate finance, working closely with Investment and Corporate Banking and Global Markets. Since joining BMO in 2009, Mr. Taves led various groups in Global Markets and ultimately became Head of Global Markets from 2016-2018, managing the sales and trading teams globally, was Chief Operating Officer of Capital Markets from 2018-2020, overseeing balance sheet and risk management and front office operations, and was Special Advisor from 2020-2023, helping the BMO Capital Markets Executive Committee drive several strategic initiatives forward and to completion.
Mr. Taves holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University, a Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He is a member of the Advisory Board of First Mortgage LP, a Canadian asset management fund.
Mr. Taves has been a director since July 13, 2020.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- Member of the Board
Attendance: 6 of 6 - Member of the Compensation Committee
Attendance: 3 of 4 - Member of the Audit Committee
Attendance: 4 of 4 - Member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee(3)
Attendance: N/A
Attendance Total: 13 of 14 (93%)
Other Public Board Memberships
None
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
2,539,011(2)
Notes:
- Represents Common Shares, Options, RSUs and any other convertible securities, on a fully diluted basis.
- As at the date of the Circular, Mr. Halyk holds 264,730 Common Shares directly. He also holds Options exercisable into an aggregate of 300,000 Common Shares, and RSUs entitling him to receive 178,571 Common Shares.
- The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee was constituted by the Board on April 21, 2025 and therefore did not hold any meetings during 2024.
Place of Residence:
Ontario, Canada
Director Since:
June 22, 2020
Shelley Potts
Principal Occupation and Biographical Information
Shelley Potts served in a variety of senior executive roles at Nestlé Canada Inc. from 1990 until she retired after five years as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2018. During her time leading Nestlé Canada, she drove a substantial increase in revenue, market share and profitability and transformed core business units and brands by introducing new formulas, packaging, pricing, global sources of supply and Lean (Six Sigma) tools. She was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Ms. Potts is a member of the Advisory Boards of Moosehead Brewery and Crosby Molasses. She is also a board director for Rogers Sugar Inc. (TSX:RSI) and Royal Victoria Hospital. Previous board experiences include Chair of Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), Kids Help Phone and Grocery Foundation (Toonies for Tummies). Ms. Potts is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University (Bachelor of Business Administration) and earned the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation in 2016. Ms. Potts has been a director since June 22, 2020.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- Member of the Board
Attendance: 5 of 6 - Member of the Compensation Committee
Attendance: 4 of 4 - Member of the Audit Committee
Attendance: 3 of 4 - Member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee(3)
Attendance: N/A
Attendance Total: 12 of 14 (85.7%)
Other Public Board Memberships
Rogers Sugar Inc. (TSX:RSI)
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
541,213(2)
Notes:
- Represents Common Shares, Options, RSUs and any other convertible securities, on a fully diluted basis.
- As at the date of the Circular, Ms. Potts holds 160,856 Common Shares directly. She also holds Options exercisable into an aggregate of 300,000 Common Shares and RSUs entitling her to receive 80,357 Common Shares.
- The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee was constituted by the Board on April 21, 2025 and therefore did not hold any meetings during 2024.
Place of Residence:
Ontario, Canada
Director Since:
April 20, 2022
David Pidduck
Principal Occupation and Biographical Information
David Pidduck has over 25 years of experience in the Canadian and international pharmaceutical industries. Mr. Pidduck has a wealth of experience in driving strategic change in complex and ambiguous environments. He was the President and CEO of Purdue Pharma (Canada) from 2017 to 2021. His previous roles within the pharmaceutical industry have centered around transformation, portfolio and channel diversification, and he has been recognized for driving significant revenue and profit growth during his tenures. Mr. Pidduck prides himself in being a people-centric leader who has been able to increase employee engagement while transforming large and complex organizations.
Mr. Pidduck holds an EMBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, and an Honours BBA from Wilfred Laurier University.
Mr. Pidduck serves as the CEO of the Company.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- Member of the Board
Attendance: 6 of 6
Attendance Total: 6 of 6 (100%)
Other Public Board Memberships
None
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
34,397,793(2)
Notes:
- Represents Common Shares, Options, RSUs and any other convertible securities, on a fully diluted basis.
- As at the date of the Circular, Mr. Pidduck holds 18,369,539 Common Shares directly. He also holds Options exercisable into an aggregate of 10,398,583 Common Shares and RSUs entitling him to receive 5,629,671 Common Shares.
Place of Residence:
Ontario, Canada
Director Since:
January 1, 2025
Keith Strachan
Principal Occupation and Biographical Information
Keith Strachan is the CEO of BioFlight Fuels, a renewable energy company creating sustainable aviation fuel from waste, since January 2015.
Keith is a co-founder of MediPharm Labs and served as President from January 2018 to December 2024. A seasoned entrepreneur, Keith applied his leadership to building out MediPharm Labs’ leading-edge facilities, while also strategically driving business development with the company’s customers in Canada, Australia, South America, and the European Union. Prior to entrepreneurism, Keith held various public service roles with the Ontario Government and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, focused primarily on supply chain management.
Appointed by the Ontario Attorney General, Keith currently sits as a member of the Ontario Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee. As a resident of Barrie, he is an active community contributor, including a member of the Kempenfelt Rotary Club.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- Member of the Board(2)
Attendance: N/A
Attendance Total: N/A
Other Public Board Memberships
None
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
10,360,109(3)
Notes:
- Represents Common Shares, Options, RSUs and any other convertible securities, on a fully diluted basis.
- Keith Strachan was appointed to the Board on January 1, 2025.
- As at the date of the Circular, Mr. Strachan holds 5,192,862 Common Shares directly. He also holds Options exercisable into an aggregate of 3,819,555 Common Shares and RSUs entitling him to receive 1,347,692 Common Shares.
Place of Residence:
Ontario, Canada
Director Since:
N/A
Emily Jameson
Principal Occupation and Biographical Information
Emily Jameson is a finance executive with over a decade of experience in investment banking, private equity, and corporate development. She currently serves as Director, Corporate Development, Banking and Strategy at Independent Trading Group, where she is responsible for capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and long-term strategic planning for small and mid-capitalization companies.
Previously, Ms. Jameson worked in private equity at Novacap in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications group, where she focused on transaction sourcing, due diligence, and execution, and served as a board observer for an industrial technology portfolio company.
Prior to that, she was Vice President, Investment Banking at Canaccord Genuity, where she sourced and executed investments for the firm’s Fintech Fund and led a range of public and private financings, including several notable transactions in the cannabis sector. Ms. Jameson holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Memorial University and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University. Ms. Jameson is passionate about fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- N/A
Other Public Board Memberships
None
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
Nil
Place of Residence:
Ontario, Canada
Director Since:
N/A
John Medland
John Medland is the Head of Advisory at Paradigm Capital Inc. advising public and private clients on M&A, restructuring and governance matters. John has over 20 years of experience advising on capital markets strategy. Throughout his career, he has led a broad range of corporate advisory engagements, including divestitures, acquisitions, valuations, restructurings, and unsolicited bid mandates. His expertise also extends to public and private capital raising transactions, including initial public offerings, bought deals, convertible securities, and debt financings.
John’s client base spans a diverse range of industry sectors including mining, Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT), financial services and healthcare. Before joining Paradigm, John led Scotiabank’s Canadian Technology business, providing strategic financial guidance to clients across the sector. John started his career in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at RBC Capital Markets and was a partner at Blair Franklin Capital Partners.
John holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's University (First Class Honours) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He serves as a Board Member and Chair of the Finance Committee for Amici Children's Camp Charity. He is also a past Board Member of Canadian Club Toronto and the Upper Canada College Association Council.
Current Board/Committee Membership
- N/A
Other Public Board Memberships
None
Number of Securities Beneficially Owned, Controlled or Directed(1)
Nil