A prudent and savvy leadership team.
Smart leaders. Trusted guidance. From strategy and direction to operations and finance, every important decision is made with care by our highly experienced leadership team.
Village Farms International
Michael A. DeGiglio
President & CEO
Stephen Ruffini
Chief Financial Officer
Ann Gillin Lefever
Chief Operating Officer
Brian Stevenson
Chief Strategy Officer
Yvonne Trupiano
Chief Human Resources Officer
Brian Ellis
Chief Information & Technology Officer
Orville Bovenschen
President Global Operations
Paul Furfaro
President Global Commercial
Sam Gibbons
SVP, Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations
Michael A. DeGiglio
President & CEO
A former U.S. Navy aviator, Mike is a pioneer of the North American Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry. He founded greenhouse technology company, Agro Dynamics, acquired by Nasdaq-listed EcoScience, becoming CEO. In 1989, he founded Village Farms, serving as CEO since inception, and building it into one of North Americas largest greenhouse produce growers.
Today, Mike remains a significant shareholder of Village Farms and is chief visionary for the Company. He has led its evolution to a plant-based consumer products company, focused on new, large market, high-growth cannabinoid opportunities around the world. He envisioned, and has directed, the execution of an aggressive growth strategy that has resulting in the creation of Canada’s premiere cannabis supplier and brand, acquisition of one of the U.S.’s top cannabinoid platforms, and international investments, while continuing to optimize the U.S. operations for cannabis optionality.
Mike has long believed in sustainable agriculture practices and early on recognized the importance of CEA in this regard, driving Village Farms to be a pioneer and innovator. He has also been instrumental its use of alternative renewable energy sources, which led to founding Village Farms Clean Energy.
Prior to his business career, Mike served on active duty in the U.S. Navy as an officer and jet aviator from July 1976 through January 1983, and the Naval Air Reserves from 1983 to 2001, retiring at the rank of Captain with the United States Naval Reserve. Michael received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Science and Aviation Management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Stephen Ruffini
Chief Financial Officer
Stephen began with Village Farms on January 5, 2009. Since joining, the Company, he has assisted the Company’s produce division with developing proprietary brands, as well as being instrumental in the transition into cannabis in Canada. He is also very involved with our business development team as well as with hemp regulatory matters in the U.S. Previously, Stephen served as the Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer of Performing Brands, a small cap US publicly traded CPG company in the energy drinks segment.
From 2001 until October 2005, Stephen served as the Chief Financial Officer of Hit Entertainment, plc a publicly traded (FTSE-250) UK-company. Hit Entertainment was the preeminent young children’s entertainment company owning such brands as Barney the Dinosaur, Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine. From 1993-2001, He served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Lyrick Corporation and RCL Enterprises, Inc. privately-held companies based in Allen, TX owning both entertainment properties, as well as commercial printing and publishing operations. From 1984 to 1993, Stephen was a Senior Tax Manager at Arthur Andersen & Co. Mr. Ruffini has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BBA from Southern Methodist University. Stephen is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Ann Gillin Lefever
Chief Operating Officer
Ann Gillin Lefever is an accomplished business, financial and capital markets executive, who has leveraged her deep experience in equity analysis, capital markets, governance and business strategy for a successful career as an advisor to C-level and board leadership on structuring businesses to create a foundation for positive long-term operating performance, strategy and communications.
"Village Farms' has had the benefit of Ann's expertise and experience for several years as a consultant to the Company, throughout which time her counsel has been integral to our strategic planning, analysis, capital markets strategy and communication. She brings a unique and valued perspective to the team that is firmly aligned with our evolution to a vertically integrated plant-based consumer products company, focused on cannabinoids and related health products, with opportunities in North America and around the world.” said Michael DeGiglio.
In addition to Village Farms, Ms. Gillin Lefever advised several other organizations on governance and financial strategies while dedicating time to her family, whom she describes as her life-mentors. Her prior professional experience includes roles in the Equities Division management teams of Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers, where she was Head of the Institutional Sales Team for four years. She also developed a business model, Desk-Based Analytics, that created synergies between equity traders and institutional clients and led to increased market share and profitability through innovative content. As a Senior Equity Research analyst covering Consumer Products at both Lehman Brothers and Sanford Bernstein, Ann won many awards for ground-breaking coverage. Ms. Gillin Lefever holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from The Wharton School. Currently, she sits on Georgetown University McDonough School's Board of Advisors as a member of its Executive Committee.
Brian Stevenson
Chief Strategy Officer
Brian is responsible for leading the Company’s enterprise-wide strategic agenda, including long-term growth strategy, global market assessment, and integration initiatives across regions and business units. With an extensive background in the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and cannabis industries, he brings more than 25 years of senior international leadership experience driving growth, transformation, and execution in highly regulated global consumer markets spanning both East and West Europe, the Americas and other international markets.
Prior to joining Village Farms, he spent 15 years at British American Tobacco (BAT), where he held senior leadership roles across commercial strategy, brand marketing, and product development, while also helping transform global supply chain, trade marketing, and go-to-market initiatives. He also co-founded ROSE LifeScience, where he served as Chief Executive Officer and later Chief Operating Officer, and conceived, funded, built, and scaled ROSE into one of Canada’s leading cannabis companies, with a sizeable presence in Quebec.
Yvonne Trupiano
Chief Human Resources Officer
Yvonne is responsible for developing and executing the human resources strategy for the company, supporting all aspects of Village Farms’ global expansion initiatives and efforts to drive excellence across the organization. Her leadership guides HR needs and planning on behalf of the executive management team, shareholders, and board of directors, with notable expertise in the areas of succession planning, talent management, change management, organizational and performance management, training and development, and compensation.
Yvonne brings over 25 years of experience leading HR functions for public and private companies across various industries and sizes, with the majority of her career at Fortune 500 global companies Avis Budget Group and SpartanNash. She began her career at a privately held automotive supplier and most recently served as CHRO at a large insurance company. She is a results-oriented business leader and transformation expert with proven success assessing human capital needs to deliver successful outcomes for current and future business goals. She takes pride in leading purpose-driven, consumer-centric organizations and is an accomplished builder of high-performing teams.
Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Development from Oakland University, and a Master of Science in Human Resource Administration from Central Michigan University. She has also held board positions for nonprofit organizations including Hello West Michigan and Heart of West Michigan United Way.
Brian Ellis
Chief Information & Technology Officer
Brian is responsible for leading global technology and information strategy, and aligning all cultivation, manufacturing, supply chain, customer-facing, product development, and internal shared services operations with secure, reliable enterprise systems that drive growth and efficiency.
Brian brings over 25 years of information technology experience across a wide range of industry verticals, including consumer goods, e-commerce, travel & hospitality, and government. He brings an extensive background leading large-scale digital transformations for both private and public companies, including leadership positions at Nike, Topgolf Callaway, and Booking.com. His expertise in ERP, CRM, DevOps, containerization, and iPaaS platforms is complemented by his proven track record in cloud transformation and integration leadership across startups, public companies, and global consulting roles. He is a U.S. Navy Veteran who honorably served in Operation Desert Storm, received a Navy Achievement Medal, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management (Cum Laude) from Saint Mary’s College in California.
Orville Bovenschen
President Global Operations
As President, Global Operations at Village Farms, Orville leads new business and operational activities for Village Farms globally. Orville’s deep cannabis experience and extensive relationship-building capabilities that are integral to identifying and nurturing opportunities in this nascent market.
Bringing more than 15 years of international business experience to Village Farms through his previous roles working in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, Orville credits his ability to work with and build relationships with people of various nationalities to having an open mind to diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. It is this respect for our differences, not to mention his knowledge of various regulatory regimes and approaches to cannabis legalization, that he believes is key to fostering a sense of understanding and working towards a common goal for everyone in this business. Orville’s financial experience is an added benefit for his role with Village Farms, which for a new industry such as cannabis, is integral for success in any market. His operational expertise honed through his role in the success of Village Farms’ Canadian cannabis business further strengthens Village Farms’ competitive advantage as the company expands cannabis operations to international markets. Working as a global conduit, Orville’s unique skillset gives him the ability to translate and drive concepts in a way that creates excitement around the future state of an emerging industry.
Orville holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands.
Paul Furfaro
President Global Commercial
Paul brings a depth of experience in strategic planning and business development to his role as President, Global Commercial at Village Farms. As legalization continues to unfold in the US and globally, Paul develops and supports new market entry and commercial growth strategies for the company.
In his previous roles as Vice President of Operations, and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer at the Société Quebecoise du Cannabis (SQDC), Paul was responsible for implementing operations infrastructure for the new provincial corporation at the beginning of cannabis legalization in 2018. His contributions lead to the establishment of a high performing, operationally disciplined organization, growing the SQDC to 90 dispensaries, over 1000 employees, and generating over $1 billion in economic benefits at the provincial and federal level. Prior to his cannabis-specific roles, Paul was the Director of Business Development for British American Tobacco Canada, where he was responsible for improving the organization's performance and competitiveness. The ambiguity and complexity of a completely new and highly regulated industry is what originally attracted Paul to the cannabis sector. For him, everything has yet to be defined, and he is excited by the prospect of charting a course forward and having a direct impact on what the industry could look like in the future. He is hyper-focused on creating winning scenarios for his team, partners, and stakeholders, as he continues to pursue Village Farms' recognition and performance on a global scale.
Paul holds a Master of Business Administration from McGill University and HEC Montréal, and a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University in Montreal, where he majored in international business and minored in finance. He currently serves as a mentor for McGill University's Integrated Management Student Fellowship and is a member of the Circle of Presidents of Quebec Marketing Network.
Sam Gibbons
SVP, Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations
Sam’s role encompasses all that may impact Village Farms and its subsidiaries’ brand and reputation, with responsibility for external stakeholder relations including equity investors, capital markets participants (banks, exchanges, consultants), competitors, regulators and advisors, as well as internal stakeholder relations with the Company’s Board, C-Suite and employees. Sam brings over 15 years of combined experience in the cannabis industry and capital markets, predominantly focused in the industrials and consumer retail sectors.
Prior to joining Village Farms, Sam spent five years as Chief of Staff to the CEO and Vice President of Investor Relations at Vireo Growth Inc., a large U.S. multi-state cannabis operator. He began his career at ICR, the largest independent financial communications firm in the United States, and also consulted at FTI Consulting and Alpha Advisory Group. Sam graduated from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and College of Communication in 2010.
Michael A. DeGiglio
President & CEOA former U.S. Navy aviator, Mike is a pioneer of the North American Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry. He founded greenhouse technology company, Agro Dynamics, acquired by Nasdaq-listed EcoScience, becoming CEO. In 1989, he founded Village Farms, serving as CEO since inception, and building it into one of North Americas largest greenhouse produce growers.
Today, Mike remains a significant shareholder of Village Farms and is chief visionary for the Company. He has led its evolution to a plant-based consumer products company, focused on new, large market, high-growth cannabinoid opportunities around the world. He envisioned, and has directed, the execution of an aggressive growth strategy that has resulting in the creation of Canada’s premiere cannabis supplier and brand, acquisition of one of the U.S.’s top cannabinoid platforms, and international investments, while continuing to optimize the U.S. operations for cannabis optionality.
Mike has long believed in sustainable agriculture practices and early on recognized the importance of CEA in this regard, driving Village Farms to be a pioneer and innovator. He has also been instrumental its use of alternative renewable energy sources, which led to founding Village Farms Clean Energy.
Prior to his business career, Mike served on active duty in the U.S. Navy as an officer and jet aviator from July 1976 through January 1983, and the Naval Air Reserves from 1983 to 2001, retiring at the rank of Captain with the United States Naval Reserve. Michael received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Science and Aviation Management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Stephen Ruffini
Chief Financial OfficerStephen began with Village Farms on January 5, 2009. Since joining, the Company, he has assisted the Company’s produce division with developing proprietary brands, as well as being instrumental in the transition into cannabis in Canada. He is also very involved with our business development team as well as with hemp regulatory matters in the U.S. Previously, Stephen served as the Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer of Performing Brands, a small cap US publicly traded CPG company in the energy drinks segment.
From 2001 until October 2005, Stephen served as the Chief Financial Officer of Hit Entertainment, plc a publicly traded (FTSE-250) UK-company. Hit Entertainment was the preeminent young children’s entertainment company owning such brands as Barney the Dinosaur, Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine. From 1993-2001, He served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Lyrick Corporation and RCL Enterprises, Inc. privately-held companies based in Allen, TX owning both entertainment properties, as well as commercial printing and publishing operations. From 1984 to 1993, Stephen was a Senior Tax Manager at Arthur Andersen & Co. Mr. Ruffini has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BBA from Southern Methodist University. Stephen is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Ann Gillin Lefever
Chief Operating OfficerAnn Gillin Lefever is an accomplished business, financial and capital markets executive, who has leveraged her deep experience in equity analysis, capital markets, governance and business strategy for a successful career as an advisor to C-level and board leadership on structuring businesses to create a foundation for positive long-term operating performance, strategy and communications.
"Village Farms' has had the benefit of Ann's expertise and experience for several years as a consultant to the Company, throughout which time her counsel has been integral to our strategic planning, analysis, capital markets strategy and communication. She brings a unique and valued perspective to the team that is firmly aligned with our evolution to a vertically integrated plant-based consumer products company, focused on cannabinoids and related health products, with opportunities in North America and around the world.” said Michael DeGiglio.
In addition to Village Farms, Ms. Gillin Lefever advised several other organizations on governance and financial strategies while dedicating time to her family, whom she describes as her life-mentors. Her prior professional experience includes roles in the Equities Division management teams of Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers, where she was Head of the Institutional Sales Team for four years. She also developed a business model, Desk-Based Analytics, that created synergies between equity traders and institutional clients and led to increased market share and profitability through innovative content. As a Senior Equity Research analyst covering Consumer Products at both Lehman Brothers and Sanford Bernstein, Ann won many awards for ground-breaking coverage. Ms. Gillin Lefever holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from The Wharton School. Currently, she sits on Georgetown University McDonough School's Board of Advisors as a member of its Executive Committee.
Brian Stevenson
Chief Strategy OfficerBrian is responsible for leading the Company’s enterprise-wide strategic agenda, including long-term growth strategy, global market assessment, and integration initiatives across regions and business units. With an extensive background in the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and cannabis industries, he brings more than 25 years of senior international leadership experience driving growth, transformation, and execution in highly regulated global consumer markets spanning both East and West Europe, the Americas and other international markets.
Prior to joining Village Farms, he spent 15 years at British American Tobacco (BAT), where he held senior leadership roles across commercial strategy, brand marketing, and product development, while also helping transform global supply chain, trade marketing, and go-to-market initiatives. He also co-founded ROSE LifeScience, where he served as Chief Executive Officer and later Chief Operating Officer, and conceived, funded, built, and scaled ROSE into one of Canada’s leading cannabis companies, with a sizeable presence in Quebec.
Yvonne Trupiano
Chief Human Resources OfficerYvonne is responsible for developing and executing the human resources strategy for the company, supporting all aspects of Village Farms’ global expansion initiatives and efforts to drive excellence across the organization. Her leadership guides HR needs and planning on behalf of the executive management team, shareholders, and board of directors, with notable expertise in the areas of succession planning, talent management, change management, organizational and performance management, training and development, and compensation.
Yvonne brings over 25 years of experience leading HR functions for public and private companies across various industries and sizes, with the majority of her career at Fortune 500 global companies Avis Budget Group and SpartanNash. She began her career at a privately held automotive supplier and most recently served as CHRO at a large insurance company. She is a results-oriented business leader and transformation expert with proven success assessing human capital needs to deliver successful outcomes for current and future business goals. She takes pride in leading purpose-driven, consumer-centric organizations and is an accomplished builder of high-performing teams.
Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Development from Oakland University, and a Master of Science in Human Resource Administration from Central Michigan University. She has also held board positions for nonprofit organizations including Hello West Michigan and Heart of West Michigan United Way.
Brian Ellis
Chief Information & Technology OfficerBrian is responsible for leading global technology and information strategy, and aligning all cultivation, manufacturing, supply chain, customer-facing, product development, and internal shared services operations with secure, reliable enterprise systems that drive growth and efficiency.
Brian brings over 25 years of information technology experience across a wide range of industry verticals, including consumer goods, e-commerce, travel & hospitality, and government. He brings an extensive background leading large-scale digital transformations for both private and public companies, including leadership positions at Nike, Topgolf Callaway, and Booking.com. His expertise in ERP, CRM, DevOps, containerization, and iPaaS platforms is complemented by his proven track record in cloud transformation and integration leadership across startups, public companies, and global consulting roles. He is a U.S. Navy Veteran who honorably served in Operation Desert Storm, received a Navy Achievement Medal, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management (Cum Laude) from Saint Mary’s College in California.
Orville Bovenschen
President Global OperationsAs President, Global Operations at Village Farms, Orville leads new business and operational activities for Village Farms globally. Orville’s deep cannabis experience and extensive relationship-building capabilities that are integral to identifying and nurturing opportunities in this nascent market.
Bringing more than 15 years of international business experience to Village Farms through his previous roles working in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, Orville credits his ability to work with and build relationships with people of various nationalities to having an open mind to diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. It is this respect for our differences, not to mention his knowledge of various regulatory regimes and approaches to cannabis legalization, that he believes is key to fostering a sense of understanding and working towards a common goal for everyone in this business. Orville’s financial experience is an added benefit for his role with Village Farms, which for a new industry such as cannabis, is integral for success in any market. His operational expertise honed through his role in the success of Village Farms’ Canadian cannabis business further strengthens Village Farms’ competitive advantage as the company expands cannabis operations to international markets. Working as a global conduit, Orville’s unique skillset gives him the ability to translate and drive concepts in a way that creates excitement around the future state of an emerging industry.
Orville holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands.
Paul Furfaro
President Global CommercialPaul brings a depth of experience in strategic planning and business development to his role as President, Global Commercial at Village Farms. As legalization continues to unfold in the US and globally, Paul develops and supports new market entry and commercial growth strategies for the company.
In his previous roles as Vice President of Operations, and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer at the Société Quebecoise du Cannabis (SQDC), Paul was responsible for implementing operations infrastructure for the new provincial corporation at the beginning of cannabis legalization in 2018. His contributions lead to the establishment of a high performing, operationally disciplined organization, growing the SQDC to 90 dispensaries, over 1000 employees, and generating over $1 billion in economic benefits at the provincial and federal level. Prior to his cannabis-specific roles, Paul was the Director of Business Development for British American Tobacco Canada, where he was responsible for improving the organization's performance and competitiveness. The ambiguity and complexity of a completely new and highly regulated industry is what originally attracted Paul to the cannabis sector. For him, everything has yet to be defined, and he is excited by the prospect of charting a course forward and having a direct impact on what the industry could look like in the future. He is hyper-focused on creating winning scenarios for his team, partners, and stakeholders, as he continues to pursue Village Farms' recognition and performance on a global scale.
Paul holds a Master of Business Administration from McGill University and HEC Montréal, and a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University in Montreal, where he majored in international business and minored in finance. He currently serves as a mentor for McGill University's Integrated Management Student Fellowship and is a member of the Circle of Presidents of Quebec Marketing Network.
Sam Gibbons
SVP, Corporate Affairs & Investor RelationsSam’s role encompasses all that may impact Village Farms and its subsidiaries’ brand and reputation, with responsibility for external stakeholder relations including equity investors, capital markets participants (banks, exchanges, consultants), competitors, regulators and advisors, as well as internal stakeholder relations with the Company’s Board, C-Suite and employees. Sam brings over 15 years of combined experience in the cannabis industry and capital markets, predominantly focused in the industrials and consumer retail sectors.
Prior to joining Village Farms, Sam spent five years as Chief of Staff to the CEO and Vice President of Investor Relations at Vireo Growth Inc., a large U.S. multi-state cannabis operator. He began his career at ICR, the largest independent financial communications firm in the United States, and also consulted at FTI Consulting and Alpha Advisory Group. Sam graduated from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and College of Communication in 2010.
