Lindsay Blackett is a successful businessman and cannabis consultant who has been a leader in the Cannabis industry for the past four years. Lindsay is a partner in Arete Cannabis Consulting Inc., a boutique consulting firm that assists clients with building their cannabis businesses including business plans, Health Canada applications, municipal permits and project management. Prior to being a co-founder of Arete, Lindsay was the President and founding Director of the Canadian Cannabis Chamber, an aggregator of cannabis businesses.
Under Lindsay’s direction, several small start-up cannabis companies have experienced notable success. One of these was a fledgling chocolate manufacturer with nominal valuation. Lindsay navigated this company through negotiations with a national supermarket chain, resulting in a contract to sell two of their products in 57 locations across the country. From there, the company was able to secure $1M in investment to build a dedicated cannabis processing facility. He has also successfully managed and processed applications for 14 retail clients based in Alberta. As a result of his leadership and expertise, one of these companies with four locations was able to successfully sell them for $3 million dollars before they opened a store.
Lindsay is a former Member of the Alberta Legislature and The Minister of Culture and Community Spirit from 2008 to 2011. Along with two years working in the Prime Minister’s Office, he also has a wealth of regulatory public sector experience from his professional activities in Ottawa, Edmonton, municipally and as a CEO of Chiniki First Nations. This wealth of leadership and expertise, along with 15 years of supply chain management in the electronics industry, has positioned Lindsay to visualize, build and manage cannabis and hemp eco-systems.