Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2020) - Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. J. Mark Lievonen, C.M., to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Lievonen is the former President of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the Canadian vaccine division of Sanofi. Under his leadership, Sanofi Pasteur became a billion dollar enterprise in Canada, manufacturing over 50 million doses of vaccines for both domestic and international markets. Mr. Lievonen spearheaded a cancer vaccine program and supported the launch of a five-component pertussis vaccine, which is widely used to this day. He has also served on a number of public and not-for-profit boards and industry organizations including as Chair of BIOTECanada and Rx&D (now Innovative Medicines Canada).
Currently, Mr. Lievonen is the Co-Chair of the Government of Canada's COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, a Director of OncoQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., Biome Grow Inc., and the Gairdner Foundation. He holds a BBA in accounting and a MBA in finance and marketing from the Schulich School of Business, York University, and is a FCPA.
Mr. Lievonen is replacing Mr. Zephaniah Mbugua, who has served on the Company's Board since August 2018. "On behalf of the Company and Board of Directors, I would like to thank Mr. Mbugua for his unwavering support of Sona throughout his many years of service, and also welcome Mark to the team," said Dan Whittaker, Sona Board Chair.
The Company has granted 250,000 incentive stock options under the Company's Stock Option Plan ("Option Plan") to Mr. Lievonen. Each option is exercisable into one common share at a price of $3.36 per share and will vest at the rate of 25% every six months. The options will expire five years from the date of grant. All other terms and conditions of the options are in accordance with the terms of the Company's Stock Option Plan.
Investor Relations Contact:
Arlen Hansen
604 684 6730 | 1 866 684 6730
arlen@kincommunications.com