Shehzad brings proven technical leadership in product innovation developed over 15 years at DIAGEO, the world’s one number premium spirits company. He started his journey in their Brand Technical Center, where he developed and commercialized close to 100 new and wide-ranging products over the span of 10 years. Leveraging his understanding of new product development, he took on several leadership roles within the organization including leading their Science and Technology platform in the field of fermentation, distillation and maturation. Eventually, he led the overall development and implementation of the entire operations management strategy for the North American whiskey portfolio.
In 2015, Shehzad ventured into the cannabis industry, as VP of R&D at Cannabistry™ – a professional research, development and branding company dedicated to bringing outstanding product innovation to the legalized cannabis industry. Over the past two years, he has spearheaded the creation of a world-class research and development team, which has brought numerous products and technologies to market. With innovation focused on patient needs, the Cannabistry team of engineers, scientists, regulatory specialists and branding gurus are actively creating and reimagining the wide range of cannabis categories by unlocking and optimizing many of the key chemicals found in Cannabis.
Shehzad earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology and holds an MBA in Finance and Operations Management from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.