Roto-Gro makes key board appointment as it pursues significant growth

As Roto-Gro pursues several growth verticals it has appointed a new board director with significant commercial and business experience.

Advanced agritech company Roto-Gro International (ASX:RGI) has made a key appointment to its board as it looks to broaden its depth of management and commercial experience.

Leighton Richards, CEO of WelleCo, an Australian-born company pioneering the premium greens and ingestible beauty movement globally, will join the Roto-Gro board as non-executive director from today.

Under Richards’ direction, WelleCo, which has numerous celebrities singing its praises, provides high quality health and wellness products, science-backed and sustainably sourced.

Richards has more than 20 years’ business experience across the consumer goods, agriculture, health, and wellness sectors.

He is also a non-executive director of Sunny Ridge Berry Farms (Sunny Ridge), an iconic attraction on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula producing strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. He contributes to Sunny Ridge’s commitment to sustainable agricultural practices and state of the art, protected growing methods.

Richards has significant experience in the private equity sector, focussing on deal flow, operational direction, strategic business planning, and post-transaction change management.

Board welcomes Richards, farewells O’Kane

Richards replaces non-executive board member Matthew O’Kane whose resignation is effective today.

Chairman Michael Carli thanked O’Kane for his diligent work on the board since his appointment late last year. He said Richards would be an asset to Roto-Gro as it pursues its growth verticals.

“Leighton Richards is a tremendous addition to the board of Roto-Gro,” Carli said.

“His vast experience in the agricultural sector will contribute to the growth of the company, broadening its depth of management and commercial experience.”

Roto-Gro – worldwide

From providing its Roto-Gro Garden Systems and a Plant Nutrient Management System for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis to developing a new technology system to feed the growing population on the backs of a booming indoor vertical farming industry, 2021 has been a significant year of advancement for Roto-Gro.

Roto-Gro has received an initial order from Canniberia LDA for the first phase of its Roto-Gro technology orders. Canniberia is currently building out its facility for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis after receiving pre-approval for its cannabis cultivation licence in Portugal. The company believes that Portugal could serve as its strategic entry point to the European lawful cannabis market, as the market is projected to experience significant growth.

Roto-Gro also secured a deal and deposit from Wolf Island Cannabis Inc., an Ontario based lawful cannabis cultivator.

On the perishable food side of the business, Roto-Gro executed an MOU with Fresh Leaf Limited, a leading Australian cultivator and distributor of fresh herbs.

Along with its ventures in the lawful cannabis and perishable food spaces, RotoGro’s reach does not stop there. Roto-Gro World Wide (Canada), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roto-Gro International, has applied to the Deep Space Food Challenge as part of its first step into the space agriculture sector.

Administered under an international collaboration between National Aeronautics and the Space Administration (NASA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the international competition aims to incentivise development of novel food production technologies needed for long-development space missions and terrestrial applications.

This article was developed in collaboration with Roto-Gro, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.