The Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC) announced a new interim president today, Paul Furfaro, following the departure of Jean-François Bergeron to take on the role as President of Loto-Quebec.

Furfaro comes into the role with more than ten years working at British American Tobacco, most recently as a Business Development Manager for the company. He joined the SQDC in January 2018 and has held the position of Director of Branch Operations since November 2018. 

In a press release from the SQDC, Furfaro is described as being at the forefront of the launch of Quebec’s legal cannabis program on October 17, 2018. Furfaro was also listed as a Director at Rose Life Sciences, a federally licensed producer in Quebec.

The SQDC will now begin the process of recruiting the next officer of the Company, overseen by the Board of Directors of the SQDC.

Loto-Quebec, where the former president Jean-François Bergeron went, is the provincial crown corporation mandated to “conduct and administer lottery schemes and to operate businesses which are incidental to the operation of a State casino” in Quebec.

The SQDC ended its recent third quarter for cannabis sales on January 2, 2021, bringing in a record of $173 million in sales, with a profit of $23.3 million. This represented a $62.2 million increase in sales from the same period a year prior. The SQDC brought in $11.6 million in profits from sales in the same quarter of 2019-2020.

This article has been edited to note that although Paul Furfaro was previously listed as a Director at Rose Life Sciences, according to a representative from the SQDC he no longer has any connection with the company.