“Growing Medical Cannabis in the UK”
“Growing Medical Cannabis in the UK”
Melissa Sturgess in conversation with Simon Jacot de Boinod.
Melissa holds a BSc and an MBA and is a seasoned Director, CEO and Chairman of publicly quoted companies in the UK and Australia. Born and raised in Perth, Western Australia, Melissa’s career in the metals and mining sector began in her late 20s, consulting for a company on gold projects in southern Africa. She fell in love with the cut and thrust of the mining industry and with the African continent. Ambitious, she spent the next 25 years, as principal, putting together African gold, diamond and platinum projects; culminating in several natural resources-focused businesses being listed on the Australian and London stock exchanges. Finding the best sources of capital to be in the UK, Melissa moved to London 13 years ago. Over the course of her career in the natural resources sector, she has raised in excess of £400m for various businesses.
In 2017 Melissa noticed the increased global attention on medicinal cannabis and started to investigate the sector for business and investment opportunities. In 2018 she listed Ananda Developments plc on the NEX Market in London to make investments in the cannabis sector and is its largest shareholder.
