The Medicinal Cannabis Council Australia (MCCA) is set to announce its seven-member founding board today, as the newly merged industry group also nears a decision on its first full-time chief executive appointment.
MCCA was formed after the merger of industry bodies Medicinal Cannabis Industry Australia (MCIA) and the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association (AMCA).
Kristin Viccars and Dr Teresa Nicoletti have jointly led MCCA through its transition period, with the organisation now moving to establish a founding board and a paid executive team headed by a full-time CEO and support staff.
Both Viccars and Dr Nicoletti have indicated they will not continue in the chair roles once the transition period concludes.
At a member briefing on Wednesday, Dr Nicoletti said 18 candidates had nominated for board positions spanning industry, healthcare, independent, and patient advocate categories.
Electronic voting opened at 4.30pm on Wednesday and closes at 4pm Thursday (today), with the successful candidates expected to be announced this afternoon.
Nicoletti confirmed the founding directors would serve without pay, consistent with the arrangements that applied to the former MCIA and AMCA boards.
"This is actually a really exciting and critical time to be in the sector, where we're really right at the point of potential regulatory reforms," Dr Nicoletti told members.
MCCA executive officer Patty Holmes said she hoped some former MCIA and AMCA board members would win seats on the new board to ease the transition for the organisation.
"It would be good to have some continuity from the old board to the new board," she said.
MCCA also updated members on its CEO search, disclosing that the role had attracted 180 applications.
Viccars said the pool had been reduced to five candidates following first-round interviews conducted on Wednesday.
He added the appointment would be announced within the next fortnight.
When asked in an interview about remuneration for the CEO and other planned paid positions, Viccars said MCCA "couldn't disclose salaries", but added it was "safe to assume market rates for the paid positions".
Dr Nicoletti, meanwhile, described the appointment of a full-time CEO as a "game changer" for the sector.
"For the first time in the sector's history, we have the funds to appoint a full-time CEO, and that's a game changer for this sector. So it's a great time to be part of it," she said.
