Lorne Gertner

Lorne Gertner (born 1955) is an entrepreneur and investor in the Canadian cannabis industry. He co-founded several formative companies within the Canadian cannabis sector, including the first publicly traded medical marijuana company in North America (Cannasat Therapeutics, now known as Cyncapsus Therapeutics), the first publicly traded merchant bank in the medical marijuana industry (PharmaCan, now known as the Cronos Group) and with his son, Alan Gertner, he co-founded one of North America’s first cannabis lifestyle companies (Tokyo Smoke). For his longstanding and diverse industry involvement, he is often referred to in the media as “the godfather of Canadian cannabis.” 
Gertner is presently a co-founder and board member of GoodCap Pharmaceuticals, a company that focuses on mental and physical health benefits of the naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug psilocybin. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design where he teaches about design and entrepreneurship.
== Early Life ==
Gertner was born in Toronto, Canada. His father (Sam Gertner) was one of the founders of Mister Leonard, a prominent Canadian women’s sportswear company. Gertner attended the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1982 and briefly working as an architect before joining Mister Leonard.
== Career ==
Between 1989 and 1997, Gertner was president of Mister Leonard where he learned first-hand about retail and manufacturing. In 1998, Gertner co-founded Hill & Gertner Capital Corporation, a merchant bank with investments in Quadrangle Architects Ltd., as well as other companies in retail merchandising, real estate, fashion, and cannabis.
Gertner was also an early investor in the Canadian cannabis sector, co-founding, investing, and acting as a board member for several companies in the early stages of legalized cannabis in Canada.
This work included co-founding Cannasat Therapeutics (now known as Cyncapsus), which acquired Prairie Plant Systems, which won the first single-source contract from Health Canada to supply legal medical marijuana. Cannasat was Canada’s first publicly traded medical marijuana company, and also an early distributor of alternative delivery systems for cannabis such as oral strips and vape pens.
In 2014, Gertner co-founded PharmaCan (now known as Cronos Group) the first publicly traded merchant bank in the medical marijuana industry.
In 2015, prior to the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, Gertner co-founded Tokyo Smoke as a design-focused cannabis lifestyle brand selling coffee, clothing, and cannabis paraphernalia. The goal was to leverage design to build a positive perception of cannabis. In 2018 Tokyo Smoke was sold along with the sale of its parent company Hiku Brands Ltd to Canopy Growth Corporation before it was a licensed cannabis retailer.
Between 2005 and 2007, Gertner also acted as president and CEO of the fashion company Pink Tartan, and was instrumental in developing Toronto Fashion Week. In 2011, Gertner began lecturing and teaching as an adjunct professor at the Daniels Faculty.
In 2020, Gertner became chair of CannaGlobal Wellness (now GoodCap Pharmaceuticals ), a company that focuses on the mental and physical health benefits of the naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug psilocybin.
Category:Canadian people
Category:Canadian businesspeople
Category:1955 births