Our Story

After working in the cannabis industry since its infancy, John has solidified himself as a stalwart and trusted advisor in the medical cannabis space, now focusing his expertise on the recreational side to launch his new venture as co-founder and CEO of Olli. Over the course of his career, he has worked with top medical cannabis brands like Aphria and Nuuvera implementing their domestic and international strategies as well as being a key contributor to their increase in shareholder value with his strategic mindset. As a notable cannabis expert, John knows how best to develop products of a high standard and ensure all Olli product offerings are best in class.

A Toronto native, Sarah Gillin brings over fifteen years of business management experience, with a focus on luxury goods marketing, to the Olli team as the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to founding Olli with John, she gained considerable international expertise working with a number of luxury brands, most recently Toronto’s top bespoke jeweler. Sarah oversees all business operations and strategic partnerships, and acts as the brand architect for Olli – helping to promote, build and develop Olli’s branding and ethos. Sarah graduated with a BA from Dalhousie University, an AAS from Parsons School of Design and most recently earned an Executive MBA from the Rotman School of Management.  Sarah is passionate about the community she lives in and devotes her personal time to her family, as well as a variety of charitable initiatives.

World-renowned tea sommelier, Richard Guzauskas is the Director of Tea Product Development at Olli and one of the most sought-after tea specialists in the world. Richard curates Olli’s cannabis-infused teas creating unique and refreshing blends. Richard entered the specialty tea industry in 1988 by launching the Leaves Pure Tea brand and after selling that brand, Richard began working with DAVIDsTEA in its earliest stages and has remained Head of Blend Development since 2008.

Award-winning and Michelin-starred restaurant-trained chef Adrian Niman is the Executive Chef of Olli, creator of the premium, high-quality edibles in Olli’s product roster and brings his expertise and flair for the extraordinary to create its unique and healthy flavours. In addition to Olli, Adrian is the owner and Executive Chef of The Food Dudes, and studied at the Michelin-starred Reeds Hotel in Mallorca, Spain where he perfected his craft before moving back to Toronto to open and operate prominent restaurants Rasa, Pantry, Clay and Sara.

Tess has been immersed in the Canadian cannabis industry since early 2017. She has been working with the co-founders of Olli since the beginning, developing partnerships, managing cannabis licensing activities and working closely on the regulatory side for both food and cannabis. She is currently working through her MBA at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Prior to Olli, Tess spent three years in the hospitality industry, managing and operating one of the top restaurants in Toronto, Rasa, for three years, sitting in the seat next to the founders. Tess has worked in various industries over the years in addition to hospitality including media, marketing and operations. She has her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and has also attended the Aarhus School of Business in Denmark.

Matt is no stranger to the restaurant industry. He’s been an integral asset to Food Dudes restaurant and catering company best known for their award-winning restaurants Rasa and Pantry. In the past decade, Matt has honed his skills working alongside noteworthy chefs and restaurateurs to become a master in management, logistics, and customer relations. Not only is he seasoned when it comes to experience, but he also comes armed with a Business Commerce Degree from Dalhousie University, making Matt a natural fit for the role of Head of Logistics. Led by his passion and love for the cannabis industry, Matt is eager to introduce cannabis edibles to the restaurant world. His meticulous nature is in full force when it comes to food detail, and his high-standards are consistently met from kitchen conception to final plate presentation. Food and safety protocol are top priority. Neither taste nor safeties are sacrificed under his watch. Matt’s love for both cannabis and food are reflected in the Olli cuisine and is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Alexandra began her career working at Canada’s leading pharmaceutical distributor and has over 2 years of sales and marketing experience specializing in the health and wellness category. Alexandra holds a Commerce Degree from McMaster University, and works alongside Olli’s co-founder Sarah on implementing and executing all of Olli’s marketing and sales initiatives including events, brand asset development and public relations outreach.

Iren has been working with Olli since 2018 in developing the Quality Manual, to be compliant with Health Canada’s requirements for the issuance of Olli’s Processing License. Iren has extensive experience as a chemistry analytical technician and Quality Assurance technician and has a B.SC in Analytical Chemistry from Carleton University.

Rafael brings over ten years of experience as a plant manager, overseeing all of the organizations daily manufacturing operations, and production practices ensuring that the facility is running safely and efficiently. Rafael has worked in several industries across the board including baked goods, meat processing and ready-to-eat products, which has given him an extensive understanding of manufacturing processes and regulatory standards such as BRC, CFIA, FDA and SQF. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and a Post- Graduate Diploma in International Business, Rafael brings his knowledge and expertise to the Olli facility and ensures that all day-to-day operations are running smoothly.

Here at Olli, Cory oversees the development and implementation of quality management systems in support of safe food manufacturing and cannabis processing. Prior to his involvement in Quality Assurance, Cory was responsible for facilitating regulatory compliance surrounding GMP site licensing and natural health product applications. His commitment to high-quality health & food products stems from an academic background in Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences at the University of Guelph (B.Sc. Honours) alongside a master’s thesis (M.Sc.) with the department of Biochemistry & Chemistry at the University of Windsor. As a graduate student, Cory’s focus was the scientific validation of naturally occurring compounds derived from plants and their efficacy in treating various diseases such as cancer. His work specific to the treatment of Hodgkin’s and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas now appears in a multidisciplinary medical journal.

As the Product Development Manager for Olli, Klaudia combines her education and expertise from both the food and cannabis industries to create retail ready products. Working with R&D, production, and the culinary team, Klaudia ensures that products meet consumer needs especially when considering palatability, efficacy, and safety. Klaudia brings a range of perspectives from several roles including ingredient application, CPG commercialization, biotechnology innovation, and cannabis product development. Klaudia holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science from The University of Guelph, as well as a Master of Science in Food Innovation Management from Maastricht University in The Netherlands.

Stefanie Caterine is an eager young professional who brings enthusiasm and innovation to the Olli Office. After graduating from McMaster University, Stefanie started her professional career managing medical clinics in the Greater Toronto Area. With extensive experience in office management, business development, sales, marketing and vendor relationship management, Stefanie will put her experience and ambition into practice as the Olli office administrator while supporting the sales and marketing teams with their ongoing initiatives.

Emerald is a recent graduate from the University of Guelph and holds a B.Sc in Food Science. Emerald has worked in the food industry for over a year and has previous product development and sensory experience. Here at Olli, Emerald contributes to the research and development of edible formulations.

Patrick is an uprising self-starter, and is trained formally in the Fine Arts. After spending his early career as an art educator and artist, he then made a switch-over to the hospitality industry. He worked his way up through the Food Dudes front-of-house roster to become an Event Chef with time spent at Clay Restaurant. Patrick now works as the Production Assistant at Olli diligently working behind the scenes to ensure all facility productions run smoothly and efficiently.