55th Mexican President and Khiron Life Sciences Corp (CVE:KHRN) Director Vicente Fox on Khiron’s Corporate Strategy

Former Mexican President and current Khiron Life Sciences Corp (CVE:KHRN) (OTCMKTS:KHRNF) (FRA:4KH) Director Vicente Fox believes the cannabis industry represents a paradigm shift for Mexican society. He stresses that Khiron’s medical focus provides moderation and stability and that the company’s success is measured in patient numbers. Fox was attracted to Khiron’s commitment to social responsibility and he highlights the company’s significant charitable donations as evidence of Khiron’s accountability. He believes this type of corporate governance is essential if the cannabis “gold rush” is going to continue. He also stresses the obligation the company has to its shareholders and emphasizes Khiron’s commitment to capturing the medical, recreational, and cosmeceutical markets in Mexico specifically and Latin America more broadly.

Transcript:

James West:    Can we start with what is your role with Khiron Life Sciences?

Vicente Fox:   Well, I’m very honored to be now on the board, Board of Directors and I’m very happy with that. This came about when they came to our event in Mexico, the first CannaMexico World Summit on cannabis. We met there and we found out that we’re twin souls. That we not only want this business sector to progress but that we want to be responsible, socially responsible with people. I think that this industry can bring peace and harmony to places like Mexico, to places like Central America, where we have such high levels of violence and that we need back our youth that is being killed in the streets of Mexico, that is being hired by the cartels and we need to rescue them. So, I think this is a paradigmatic change.

James West:    Okay. So, then your role with Khiron is to bring medical cannabis to Mexico?

Vicente Fox:   Latin America and to participate in discussions and advice for global strategy for Khiron. So, it’s everything is all together on this, on this board responsibilities that I have and yes, we are particularly interested in beginning to work in the Mexican market that already approved medical use but we are yet missing the regulation for that medical use. So, we are waiting urgently for this to happen because Khiron is ready to go aggressively in the Mexican market place of health.

Second, new authorities, new government have been taking a very open and positive position to go after the whole enchilada. So, recreational use will be pretty soon legalized and in a regulation will come forward but up to now Khiron’s priority is medical use. Khiron is very smart in saying the benchmark, the measuring and indicator for my success is the number of patients, not the amount of kilos of marijuana I can produce, not the markets I go to, it’s patience, it’s the customer and it’s bringing solutions to that patients. It’s making sure that you bring a benefit to him not just selling whatever product you have, is that you make sure that you saw a problem or a need that that patient has

James West:    So, is the addiction to opiates as a result of big pharma a problem for the Mexican people?

Vicente Fox:   The concept is not yet permeated in Mexico. It is not an issue so big that it is here in the state, but at the very end opioids is an excess, is the lack of moderation in consumption. They are not bad products by themselves. Marijuana, cannabis are not bad products to your health. It is a solution when you consume with moderation, when you consume under a prescription and the guidance of somebody that knows about your health; a doctor, a nurse that can help you to consume what is going to be good for you.

So, I think that the great thing about Khiron in this industry is moderation. If you eat sugar more than you should, you will get diabetes. If you drink more alcohol than you should or you could absorb you’re going to die. So, moderation in every industry is most important and that’s why I speak about these standards that Khiron is trying to set in the industry. I’m not here to tell you as much as you can consume until you die, no. Prescription every month, every time you consume so that we administrate correctly something that is going to be good for your health.

James West:    And is Khiron bringing a scientific pharmaceutical approach to the production of cannabis products for Latin America?

Vicente Fox:   Absolutely yes! Many of the colleagues we work with have a PhD degree, have a master’s degree in science, in health and yes, the research for new products, the effort on quality products and good for your health products is stored in Khiron and it adapts in a way not only to the market, not only to country by country, it adopts region by region and mostly it adopts through you, the individual consumer. Today with technology I can know how you are, I can know how is your health, I can know what you need and I will give what you need and you through technology will be in contact with me; telling me how do you feel what you need. So, it’s a personalized medical health system that you can do today with technology.

James West:    So, you were formerly the head of Coca-Cola, the President of Coca-Cola Latin America and to what extent do you envision using lessons from your time as the head of Coca-Cola Latin America to bring to bear on Khiron to help them succeed in the Latin American market place.

Vicente Fox:   What you know, I’m 76 now and I joined the Coca-Cola Company when I was 18. So almost 58 years ago. Marketing is the same, is the same. As you produce you have somebody to consume. But now, the tortilla has been turned around. Now, you tell me what you want me to produce, I produce it and I give it to you.

James West:    Okay. So, is there a risk that the cartels in Mexico will suffer because of the legalization of cannabis and its distribution through legal channels?

Vicente Fox:   Number one yes, they will be worried about losing market share and income. They derive from marijuana cannabis today. In the case of Mexico that money comes from U.S consumption more than Mexican consumption. So as long as United States moves forward to legalize and hopefully nationally the cartels will be weakened because they will get less and less income themselves. The other one, the positive one is what I have witnessed and seen in mature markets like Seattle, like Vancouver, like Holland, like Portugal, like Uruguay, the criminals, the cartels move in a not visible way from crime industry into legal industry.

James West:    From the investors perspective, Khiron also started to roll out products in the cosmeceutical area and so, my question on behalf of the investors who I know will watch this will is that is Khiron’s plan to capture both the medical and the recreational but as well as a cosmeceutical market and perhaps consumer packaged goods and in the context of food and beverages, are they to capture all of the opportunities?

Vicente Fox:   When Khiron has an obligation with the consumer, the patient, number one.  Number two, has an obligation with its employees and its stakeholders and has an obligation with its stockholders to bring return to them. So, it’s a generous company, a humane company, a company thinking about stakeholders, stockholders and employees.

So, I think that this will keep on going because now I’m working with Khiron to expand the market, to expand the revenue, to increase the return but being a socially responsible company, being a socially responsible corporation within the space of cannabis and marijuana because otherwise this gold rush that we have right now, everybody wants to invest in the industry.

Returns suspected 30, 40, 50 percent, maybe 1x, 2x, 3x depending on the way you run the business could go to hell if we don’t act with responsibility, if we don’t act with the values we believe in the ethics that must be part of this industry. If we are not in some way a responsible industry this gold rush can disappear. Many industries have disappeared because they don’t have those values. So, transparency, reliability, ethics, accountability is a must for this industry. And Khiron is going to be the champion of this values because if it’s not I just pronounce and go away. That’s my commitment with the company and that’s the company’s commitment with me.

James West:    Okay, that’s great. Thank you very much. That was perfect.

Vicente Fox:   My pleasure.

Original article: 55th Mexican President and Khiron Life Sciences Corp (CVE:KHRN) Director Vicente Fox on Khiron’s Corporate Strategy

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