Nextleaf Names CFO Sam Kassem Interim CEO and Plans Strategic Review

Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. said in a September 15, 2026 announcement that Emma Andrews has stepped down as chief executive officer, president and a director of the company. The board of directors appointed Sam Kassem, the company’s chief financial officer and a director, as interim chief executive officer effective immediately, and Nextleaf said the board and management intend to undertake a comprehensive review of the business.

The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company is an innovation-driven Canadian cannabis processor whose shares trade as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Strategic Review and Permanent CEO Search

The company said the review will emphasize improving profitability, strengthening cash generation, increasing operating efficiency and focusing resources on its highest-value commercial opportunities. The board will also undertake a comprehensive executive search for a permanent CEO to lead the company into its next phase. Kassem’s appointment comes as the company enters what it described as a renewed phase of strategic, operational and financial focus.

Nextleaf said it remains focused on serving its customers and partners, maintaining operational continuity and executing its near-term priorities while the review and the CEO search are underway, and that it will provide further updates as appropriate.

Andrews spent eight years with Nextleaf and served as CEO since September 2023, following five years as director of marketing. The company credited her tenure with its evolution into a consumer-packaged goods business, the development of its brands and commercial capabilities, and the expansion of its presence in domestic and international cannabis markets.

“Leading Nextleaf has been an extraordinary privilege, and I am deeply grateful to the people who have contributed to this Company and its evolution,” Andrews said. She said she was incredibly proud of what the team had built together, particularly the people and culture behind those accomplishments, and that she remained confident in Nextleaf’s team, brands, capabilities and the opportunities ahead.

To support an orderly transition, Andrews will remain engaged with the company under a separate advisory arrangement for a transition period, assisting with the handover of key relationships and commercial priorities.

Kassem has served as chief financial officer since September 2023 and as a director since December 2023. The company said he brings more than a decade of cannabis industry experience, including co-founding and building a U.S.-based cannabis business and holding senior leadership roles across Canada and the United States, along with extensive international business experience.

Kassem said Andrews had made a meaningful contribution to Nextleaf over many years, and he thanked her on behalf of the board and the entire Nextleaf team for her leadership, commitment and contributions to the company.

“As I step into this role, my immediate priority is to take a disciplined and objective look at the business and ensure that our strategy, resources and capital are aligned with the opportunities that offer the strongest potential returns,” Kassem said. He said the company’s focus will be on strengthening performance and positioning Nextleaf to create sustainable long-term shareholder value.

Fiscal Second-Quarter Results

The leadership change follows financial results the company released June 1, 2026, covering its fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2026. Nextleaf reported gross revenue of $3,338,310 and gross profit of $914,536 on net revenue of $2,406,388, with a gross margin of 38.0% compared with 38.3% in the prior-year quarter despite what the company described as continued industry-wide pricing compression. It reported a net loss of $646,277 for the quarter, which it characterized as reflecting deliberate investment in commercial infrastructure and platform readiness ahead of anticipated fiscal 2026 revenue contribution, including a national sales agency, a qualified export-ready platform and a second licensed processing site.

For the six months ended March 31, 2026, Nextleaf reported Adjusted EBITDA of $107,129, a measure it identifies as non-GAAP and not recognized under International Financial Reporting Standards. The company reported excise duties of $931,921 paid to the Canada Revenue Agency, representing 28% of gross revenue.

The June report included what the company called its first-ever international export revenue, $322,358 in fiscal 2026 generated entirely from white-label shipments to Australia. Bulk distillate revenue grew 23.6% year over year to $429,621 from $347,580 in the prior-year quarter, growth the company said reflected accelerating demand for its business-to-business ingredient platform amid increasing pricing pressure in branded consumer-packaged goods. Nextleaf also reported that its Glacial Gold brand ranked second for national market share in the ingestible-capsule subcategory at approximately 19% of retail dollars in the quarter, citing Turff retail measurement data, and that Glacial Gold THC 10 Softgels in the 100-count format ranked among Canada’s top two best-selling softgel SKUs by retail revenue.

The company said it expanded distribution partnerships into Manitoba and Saskatchewan, added listings in Québec through Québec Craft Cannabis and achieved national retail sales coverage through its partnership with Kindred Canada. The report also disclosed that Nextleaf issued 266,667 common shares at $0.06 per share for aggregate proceeds of $16,000 to certain employees under its compensation and retention strategy, with the shares subject to a four-month hold period under Canadian Securities Exchange policies.

In the June report, Nextleaf said it was entering its fiscal third quarter, covering April to June 2026, focused on continued implementation of its fiscal 2026 strategic objectives. Those included a micro-processing license for Nextleaf Distribution, the company’s second site of operations, which it said would allow it to scale domestic and export-ready operations while maintaining quality oversight, resource utilization and operational efficiency; advancing its export-ready platform through subsequent shipments and due diligence with additional commercial partners in expanded jurisdictions; securing toll processing agreements to supplement top-line revenue in its bulk ingredient business; hiring and onboarding a sales leadership role to execute domestic consumer-packaged goods objectives; and expanded listings from its High Plains Cannabis brand. In the same report, Andrews characterized the quarter’s results as intentional and disciplined execution in a highly competitive market and said the company invested in infrastructure that strengthens its position as a capital-efficient, qualified export-ready cannabis processor.