What happened

Shares of Canada-based marijuana company HEXO (NYSE:HEXO) rose nearly 6% higher Tuesday because of a hire. The company announced after market close on Monday that it has named a new CFO; investors were clearly impressed by the appointment.

So what

The new denizen of HEXO’s C-suite is Trent MacDonald, who is to begin his tenure at some point over the next few months (the company didn’t get specific, as he is required to go through a vetting process with marijuana industry regulator Health Canada). 

MacDonald brings wide experience to the company, given his previous work. He was most recently CFO of privately held Rx Drug Mart. He was also vice president finance of bookstore chain operator Indigo, and served in a similar capacity at food retailer Sobeys. He replaces Stephen Burwash as HEXO’s CFO. 

Image source: Getty Images.

In HEXO’s press release heralding MacDonald’s hiring, CEO Sebastien St-Louis said, “As our business grows and we execute our strategic plan, the Board and I felt it important to ensure that our management team have the skill set most beneficial for HEXO.”

Now what

Corporate marijuana is not only a relatively new industry, it’s an industry that touches several different complimentary sectors (healthcare and retail, chiefly). Nabbing a top manager who’s done time in the trenches of more than one of these fields has real potential to benefit any operator, particularly considering the cannabis sector‘s many struggles of late.