Board Of Directors

Board of Directors

Executive Director

Mr Matthew LEONARD

Mr Leonard is an accomplished and internationally proven business development professional.With over 12 years of outstanding record of achievement in demanding, complexe and high competitive markets. Possess expertise across advertising, markting and media event management sector, with recent focus on expertise across advertising, marketing and media event management sector, with recent focus on linking opportunities with high net work individuals throughout Asia. Effective collaboration and a relentless passion for driving positive business results has been an integral part of his consistent over delivery.

Mr Leonard is a member of Golden Venture Capital which provides corporate advisory and consultancy services. In this role, Mr Leonard has assisted a number of companies to raise capital throughout Asia and Australia.

 

Executive Director

Mr Francesco Cannavo

Mr Cannavo is an experienced public company director with significant business and investment experience working with companies operating across various industry sectors. He is formerly a director of Lifespot Health (ASX:LSH) and is currently a Non-Executive Director of Western Mines Group Ltd (ASX:WMG).

Mr Cannavo is the founder of Golden Venture Capital, a corporate advisory firm based out of Melbourne, Australia. He has been instrumental in assisting many listed and unlisted companies achieve their growth potential by providing strategic advice on raising investment capital and completing strategic acquisitions. He is an entrepreneur with a strong network of investors and industry contacts in the public company sector in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He has extensive experience in capital raisings, investment activities and IPOs.

Non-Executive Chairman

Mr Paul Stephenson

Mr Paul Stephenson was a partner in the Sydney Office of HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (HWLE) for thirteen years before retiring from the partnership in 2017. Mr Stephenson remains a consultant with HWLE and is also a foreign (Australian) lawyer with Israeli law firm Afik & Co. Mr Stephenson divides his time between Australia and Israel.

Mr Stephenson specialises in public and private equity fundraising, initial public offerings, backdoor listings and reverse mergers (both in Australia and the United States), and mergers and acquisitions involving both private and listed companies. Mr Stephenson has experience in a large number of industry sectors including the cannabis industry. Mr Stephenson has acted on many cross border transactions and has expertise in equity capital markets and M&A transactions involving the USA, UK, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Israel.

Mr Stephenson brings his extensive corporate experience to the Board at the time the Company is looking to expand its business operations in the cannabis sector, including, potentially, by way of joint venture and acquisition. Mr Stephenson will leverage his network in Israel to seek potential business opportunities for the Company in the cannabis sector. Mr Stephenson will also bring his corporate experiences and connections in Israel to bear in helping SCU leveraging its plant stem cell technologies and expertise.

 

Non-Executive Director

MR GU HUAN QING (PHILIP)

Having worked with multinational corporations (MNCs) and quasi governments in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Mr Gu has over 30 years of senior management and consultancy experience in Singapore, China, Australia, and 28 South Pacific countries. He has well-established global network and well-versed in both business management and technical knowledge in the agriculture sector.

During his professional career, he spent 10 years working with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). In addition, he has 20 years of experience in managing businesses in the following sectors: Manufacturing, Research & Development, Marketing & Distribution, Commodities Trading, Agri-Food, F&B, Value-added solutions & product.

Mr Gu is the key developer of SCU’s Dendrobium Officinale orchid plant stem cell products. He holds a Master of Science degree in plant physiology from South China Teachers University (renamed South China Normal University) and a Diploma in Business Management from Australian Academy of Business Studies.

Mr Gu is also a visionary and influential leader. He was recently featured in an interview titled ``Green Rush by Four Corners`` by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). In addition to that, Mr Gu has been invited to be the keynote speaker for a number of conferences in the industrial hemp industries:

1. The Cannabis Investor Symposium, Hong Kong, 2018
2. CannaTech Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2019
3. World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, 2019
4. International Industrial Hemp Conference, Harbin, China, 2019
5. 1st China Hemp Investors Forum, Kunming, Chna, August 2019

CFO

Ms Chow-Yee Koh

Mr Koh graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Strathclyde, Scotland and is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK). He has over 18 years experience in accounting and corporate finance accumulated with accounting firms and listed companies in Australia, China, Singapore and Malaysia.

Company Secretary

Ms Elizabeth Spooner

Elizabeth is an experienced governance and compliance professional who works closely with a number of boards of both listed and unlisted public companies in her role at Automic.

She holds a double degree in Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts majoring in Human Resources, and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute. Elizabeth is in the final stages of completing her Juris Doctor degree from Australian National University.

She is an Associate of the Governance Institute of Australia, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Member of the Australian HR Institute and a NSW Justice of the Peace.