Neptune Wellness hires general counsel

Laval, Quebec-based Neptune Wellness Solutions has appointed John Wirt as general counsel.

Wirt was most recently president and general counsel with Epic Sports & Entertainment, a boxing promotions company. Before that he was CEO and general counsel for Square Ring, a global sports promotion company.

He started his legal career as an associate at Jenner & Block and later as an associate at Sidley & Austin. Wirt has served on the board of directors for Nasdaq-listed Interactive Television Networks, including as chair of the audit committee.

Wirt leads Nasdaq and TSX-listed Neptune’s in-house legal department, which includes recent hire Gary Kaminsky, senior vice president for compliance and legal affairs. Kaminsky has spent more than three decades as a regulatory compliance attorney, including as an enforcement attorney for the SEC and as lead compliance counsel for a number of companies in the US cannabis industry.

‘I am thrilled John is joining Neptune to lead our legal department, which was recently strengthened with the addition of Gary Kaminsky to build out the compliance processes required to operate in highly regulated industries such as food, beverages and cannabis,’ says Neptune Wellness president and CEO Michael Cammarata in a statement.

‘John's extensive legal experience in highly regulated global industries combined with his significant financial acumen as a CPA and experience as audit chair of a public company, make him uniquely suited to build and direct an industry-leading legal department that will take us into the future. Additionally, by bolstering our internal legal department, Neptune will realize significant efficiencies on external legal resources.’