Rick Brar
CEO and Chairman
Rick Brar is a serial entrepreneur with unparalleled foresight into the cannabis space stemming from his years of experience within and beyond the industry. Throughout his career, he has used his business savvy to build companies from the ground up, actively contribute to the development of the Canadian cannabis industry, and uncover strategic opportunities. These experiences have given him the ability to accurately assess the cannabis market, anticipate and predict market shifts, and respond accordingly.
Rick launched his career as a sole owner of a seed-to-farm herb and nutraceutical supplier for grocers and pharmaceuticals that consistently led rankings like AC Nielsen. Over the years, he grew this operation to span 6,600 acres across eight countries in order to augment supply demand from Europe. He then entered the packaged consumer goods space, building relationships with major grocers like Loblaws, Shoppers Drugmart, Walmart, and Sobeys.
In the early 2010s, Rick saw the opportunity to transition his experience with nutraceuticals and plants to become a pioneer in the Canadian cannabis industry. In 2011, he co-founded Zenabis Global Inc., a leading Canadian licensed producer, and during his tenure helped grow the company to a market cap of close to CAD$900 million. Rick has also been an active contributor to existing regulations, having been a part of the ACPMR Stakeholder Roundtable for Bill C45.
Over the course of his career, Rick has found opportunities to actively participate in a number of committees including the US Product Marketing Association, the US Marine Hotel Association, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, and the Loblaw’s President’s Choice Innovation Committee, which helped position President’s Choice as one of the leading brands in the world. He’s also taken his advisory skills overseas, supporting the Colombian ministry of agriculture as they built their herb and fresh flower export market.
Now, leading the helm at Brains Bioceutical, Rick is following his knowledge of the cannabis space into Europe. He has used his extensive insight and expertise to enable the company to become a leading producer of EU-GMP-certified CBD active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), establish the company’s product as Brazil’s first registered medical cannabis product, and develop a partnership with the UK’s largest vitamin distribution company.
