Raynaud Mignot, CEO of Holland Green Science International, brings more than three decades of business development experience to the company.

In his role as CEO of the Holland Green Science Group, Raynaud brings a global vision for expansion and leadership, drawing on his 17 years with The HEINEKEN Company and 14 years leading small and mid-sized enterprises. As Holland Green Science positions itself to bring the cannabis industry up to global safety standards, Raynaud looks to employ the business principles that helped him shape other global companies for success both at home and abroad.

Get to know Raynaud with these 4 questions that’ll take you through his career, experiences, and his drive to unite cannabis culture with business.

Q: What unique perspective do you bring to the cannabis industry?

Raynaud Mignot (RM): The fields I’ve been in were more mature markets – the beer industry, of course, is very mature. Cannabis is an emerging market; it’s relatively new and very exciting. And although it is a totally new market, the other 90% of how to do business remains the same. When you have a lot of experience in other industries that are more developed, you can bring insights to the table that help your team implement their vision.

I’m learning a lot in the field of cannabis from my colleagues, and in turn I am helping with critical activities like financing, distribution, contractual management, and human resources. At my last company, I helped open a Singapore office and expanded into Asia. In cannabis, the whole market is opening up and the whole world is following. Canada and certain states in the U.S. are the frontrunners, and Europe is following, and there are positive developments in Asia.

Our strategy is to be there as soon as the international markets come along. The thing we need to have is the supply chain in order to quickly scale up and supply them with the equipment they need to be working with the right partners around the world. That’s what we’ve been doing. And it’s just a lot of fun to be part of this emerging market and play a crucial role.

Q: How does your experience in business development translate to Holland Green Science?

RM: I think it’s a very nice combination to know how corporate companies think, as well as what you need to do when you’re a small to mid-sized entrepreneur. In both environments, I was always working on the building phase of the company, looking for distribution channels, new opportunities, and acquisition potential. I’ve managed a lot of mergers and acquisitions, which is something I also bring to the table, especially for a developing industry like cannabis.

I also have a lot of experience in building strong teams. You need to be a serving leader who helps your team grow and establish what they need to establish. It’s very important that we have skilled people who know exactly how to manage the complex and intricate extraction process.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing the international cannabis market?

RM: We see the same thing that happens with most emerging markets – there is all this hype at first, but then it gets its feet on the ground and resets. This was the case with the internet, for example. In cannabis, all these companies were being purchased at high valuations that had nothing to do with their fundamentals, simply because investors saw “cannabis.” Now, it’s stabilizing and the industry is coming online more realistically.

It’s also very important to proactively work together with local authorities and various governments. We still need them to realize these products are helpful for humankind (like the old Greeks and Egyptians already knew) and that it’s better to legalize it. We need to be ambassadors on the positive side for people who are not involved in this market.

And, to be fair, the UN decriminalized cannabis two years ago. The issue is that to be adopted in local legislation in all these different countries takes time. It’s not always a matter that these countries don’t want to legalize; everyone sees the opportunity, it just doesn’t always go as fast as we would like. That said, we finally have more research of how positive cannabis can be – especially in Israel, there is a lot of medical research being generated. This research hadn’t been done before because it was widely forbidden.

Q: What is key for cannabis extractors to understand, especially in these emerging markets?

RM: Extraction technology is very complex, and you really need to know what you’re talking about. Doing it wrong ruins biomass and becomes very costly. Extraction is not a simple thing, so you need the right equipment and a supplier that has the knowledge and experience to help you understand how it works. That’s where Holland Green Science comes in.

In addition to our supply chain expertise and the business development know-how to ensure we can meet demand, our leadership team has decades of cannabis experience. I know firsthand how effective they’ve been in educating me on everything I need to know about this space, and although I’m still learning I have some of the best teachers on my team. Knowing we can offer that same education to our clients, many of whom may just be starting out in these new markets, is a major value add.

Get the latest from Holland Green Science

Get the latest news, updates, and information from Raynaud and all the leadership at Holland Green Science. Connect with Raynaud on LinkedIn to learn more about his role as CEO at Holland Green Science International, working out of Europe, and how he plans to help supply the global cannabis industry with the equipment needed to produce high quality extracts worldwide.