With a fresh look and a redesigned print magazine, Canadian business provides innovative leaders, and those who want to learn from them, the resources, networking opportunities, and inspiration to connect and continue to challenge the status quo. One of the ways we are doing this is by launching the Canadian Business Leadership Circle, CB ‘s Leaders in Residence program where each month we hire a different C-level executive who makes an impact in their field. As part of the program, readers will have the opportunity to connect with these forward-thinking business executives for mentoring and professional development through exclusive content, virtual fireside chats, and more.
Our second CB leader in residency this month is Tricia Symmes, Commercial Director of Aleafia Health, a medical cannabis care company. A visionary in her own right, Symmes has more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive in the pharmaceutical and cannabis industries. In conversation with CB, shares the details of Aleafia’s new and exciting companies, the evolution of the industry, and her advice for young women entering the business world.
What have been your biggest influences when it comes to being a leader?
My education, especially the time I spent as a competitive figure skater during my youth, has played an important role in my development as a leader. It taught me a lot of the fundamentals around perseverance, hard work, drive, and overcoming failures. Within the entrepreneurship space, I have also had many mentors early in my career who really helped me thrive and cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. He encouraged me to exhibit the same leadership and guidance once I had the opportunity to work with teams and build organizations myself.
You’ve moved from pharmaceuticals to cannabis care. Was this the career path you had always envisioned?
Not necessarily. I hadn’t planned to move into the pharmaceutical industry, but I had a background in health sciences and business, which definitely prepared me for it. I have parents in the medical field, so I have always appreciated health and wellness, and when I was presented with a pharmaceutical sales opportunity, I felt like the best of both worlds. I was able to work with doctors and patients, but also navigate the business side of things, like brand development and marketing. Having been in the field for over 20 years, this field has been a huge part of my career growth. As I’ve finally moved to different industries, the most important part of my job has always been to improve the lives of others. Now, at Aleafia Health, I am happy to continue doing so.
How does your role as CCO at Aleafia Health fulfill the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of your career?
Early in my career, I had the opportunity to work for large multinational organizations that provided me with a wealth of business-critical skills and training. From the beginning, I would say that one of my biggest goals was to apply this training in a role that offers room for creativity and impact.
The cannabis care industry is still very young and in the early stages of truly establishing itself. This opportunity at Aleafia is to create something special from scratch, and it’s an opportunity that doesn’t come up often. Being part of this formative stage, not only the start of an industry, but also the launch of a company and a portfolio, is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
What are some of the challenges within the cannabis industry that you hope to overcome?
There are some, the first is undoubtedly the stigma associated with cannabis. It is important that as cannabis becomes more accessible, so does education on how to use it safely and effectively. Which curiously brings me to the second challenge: the strict marketing regulations and guidelines that affect the way cannabis can be promoted and discussed.
We are challenged to communicate with the wide range of Canadians who may benefit from therapeutic methods of cannabis use, but simply do not have enough information to search for it themselves. Another critical point here is that many medical products are not covered by natural health product claims. I believe that as part of the evolution of this industry, we will begin to see a greater acceptance towards different formats of cannabis reflected in regulation and health policy.
What do you think the recreational cannabis industry and the cannabis care industry have to learn from each other?
The early days of legalization were primarily focused on the medical side of the industry and from there came huge benefits for patients in need. I think what we have learned from the medical side is that there are many different conditions that can be treated with non-traditional pharmaceutical methods.
When we first compared the recreational side of the business, it was often dismissed as illicit and invalid. But now, we see a wide range of recreational users using cannabis differently and for different reasons. They may not be interested in smoking or inhaling anything; There are a number of nutraceutical products in the medical aspect that can offer you a benefit in a more curated way, especially in regards to sleep, anxiety or common pain. I think there is a lot to learn in terms of understanding consumer trends and the unique ways to apply cannabis to your daily life. We’re still in the early days for both markets … but it’s something that I think we’ll continue to see valuable information streamlining between the two.
Have there been developments in the cannabis care industry that have particularly surprised you?
The movement of medical products to the recreational space, as one more option for general health and well-being, is something that pleasantly surprises me and I am passionate about. Building “2.0 products” in alternative forms, such as concentrates or topicals, is a major advance in making cannabis more accessible to recreational users. One of our products, Kin Slips, is a strip under the tongue that offers a dose of CBD in a discreet and simple way. When legalization began, the center page consisted of inhaling smoke or steam. To have come so far in the evolution of products is remarkable. You are encouraging my teams to be more creative in how we approach cannabis use as part of Canadians’ health and wellness routines.
There was also a lot of speculation once about the state of the medical space once recreational legalization came along. Although some believed that many patients would simply turn to recreational use, there is still a great need for both therapeutic areas to work together – for patients to take cannabis as part of a chronic therapy that hopefully in the future is built into the private health plans. .
Do you see any commonalities between sectors in the types of obstacles women face in advancing their careers, as well as how organizations can break down those obstacles?
Often times, women in the workplace will struggle with the pressure of putting their professional life light years ahead of their personal life. In a male-dominated corporate world, women exert extreme pressure on themselves to keep up with their male counterparts. I believe that it is a conversation that must continue and we must be open and transparent about what is expected of us in a fair and equitable way.
Early in my career, I became a vice president when I was nine months pregnant and I remember being afraid to take maternity leave because I thought it would hamper my career and set me back. I wish I had, in those early days, the knowledge and confidence to understand that as you move through the different levels of leadership, it is vital that the organization you are working for creates a space for women that does not come with biased conditions or pressures. The cannabis space is particularly male-dominated, and while diversity is growing, there is plenty of room for our industry to do better.
What advice would you give especially to other women entering the business world?
My best advice would be to never doubt yourself. Even if your career is headed in a direction that you haven’t seen a female leader descend in before, know that you can do it. I was the first female vice president in my position, and although I knew it would be difficult, I never doubted myself. Set your goals and go after them with vigor and confidence.
Reference-www.canadianbusiness.com