Many on Wall Street were shocked to learn that Bruce Linton, the co-CEO of Canada’s Canopy Growth was let go from the company.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Linton said he was fired. “I think stepping down might not be the right phrase,” he said, referring to the language in the company press release. “I was terminated.”
Shares of the stock fell about 5% on the news.
Mark Zekulin, the former co-CEO, will be the sole chief executive of the company as they search for another leader. Zekulin stated in a company’s press release, “I personally remain committed to a successful transition over the coming year as we begin a process to identify new leadership that will drive our collective vision forward.”
“The magnitude of losses for [Canopy] has expanded far more than we had expected, and while we commend Linton for his vision in establishing the world’s leading cannabis company, we believe new leadership will be a welcome change,” Cowen analyst Vivien Azer noted.
“About eight months and two days later, I think the board had decided they wanted a different chair and a different co-CEO,” said Linton, remarking on the multi-billion dollar investment from Constellation Brands last November.
Last month Constellation CEO William Newlands said the company was “not pleased” with Canopy’s fourth quarter results. Canopy had reported a wider-than-expected loss in the quarter.
“What we remain excited about is that this is going to be a big long-term business, and we are working with Canopy almost on a daily basis to ensure that we are all focused on the right things,” Newlands said at the time.
