Vitura Health has named Dr Stefan Schmidt as its new chief technology officer with a brief to manage the company’s transition to a new platform to replace CanView.
Schmidt has more than 20 years’ experience in product design and conception, platform solution architecture and machine learning/artificial intelligence.
Most recently, he helped lead the development of Woolworths’ HealthyLife platform, which Vitura said “has a number of elements” similar to its businesses, including online purchasing and telehealth services.
Prior to his role at Woolworths, Schmidt was head of technology at Vodafone.
Vitura chairman Robert Iervasi said: “We are excited to have Dr Schmidt join our executive team and we are confident that he will make a valuable contribution in leading the company’s expanding team of IT professionals and the delivery of important IT projects that will underpin… future growth.”
Last week, Iervasi told investors Vitura was “well advanced” in moving across to a new system following an ongoing legal dispute with CanView tech provider Code4Cannabis.
Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis
The Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis (PFMC) met in Canberra yesterday (Tuesday).
Assistant minister for health and aged care and assistant minister for Indigenous health Ged Kearney was among the attendees, along with PFMC co-chairs Anne Urquhart and Warren Entsch.
A spokesperson for Cannabis Council Australia, whose representatives also attended the event, said Kearney’s participation “highlighted the government’s recognition of the growing importance of medicinal cannabis as a legitimate treatment option”.
“Her input reinforced the critical need for ongoing reform, particularly in improving patient access and addressing legislative barriers that continue to affect medicinal cannabis users across the country,” the spokesperson added.
Wellnex Life
Wellnex Life has appointed George Tambassis as non-executive chair.
A pharmacist with more than 35 years’ experience in community pharmacies, Tambassis served as a director of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia for 15 years, including seven years as its national president, and was the inaugural president of the World Pharmacy Council.
He has served as a non-executive director with ASX-listed pharmaceutical wholesaler and franchisor Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as a non-executive director at Kings Transport Consolidated Group and chair of the advisory board at the Australian Biologics Academy – part of the Arrotex Pharmaceuticals group of companies.
His board and executive experience includes corporate strategy, business operations, finance and risk management – particularly in health, logistics, pharmacy finance, insurance and aged care – as well as government relations and public policy.
“I am really looking forward to taking on the role of Wellnex Life chairman and assisting the company in the next phase of its growth,” he said.
