AACE INTERVIEW: Angela Pih Melds the Center of Cannabis Between East and West
“For those who are entering the cannabis industry, my recommendations are: (i) Work with people you trust, admire, and can learn from. (ii) Have a healthy dose of hustle (iii) Don’t chase after the shiny things (iv) Know your worth.”
There are people who have a natural gift for straddling many worlds; they move with ease from a meeting of farmers to a meeting of industrialists; one of those rare people is Angela Pih. I met Angela when I was looking for help with AACE, she stepped up and not only volunteered for everything, she also named our events “Potluck”. Angela is not only a friend; she is someone I look up to as a trailblazer. - Ophelia Chong
OC: I grew up as a first-generation Chinese Canadian, and I learned how to speak Cantonese at home. Of course, over the years, my grasp of Cantonese has only brought benefits when ordering dim sum, and not well at that. Angela, you were taught to be independent, goal-oriented, and determined to make your mark on the world. How has that upbringing influenced or shaped your work in the Cannabis industry?
I love this question. There are so many shared experiences as Chinese immigrants with all the cultural inheritance of gender biases and prejudices.
My parents met in Montreal when both were attending university. They were the first generation to establish themselves in Canada. My mother was the first person in her family to go abroad to acquire a higher education. My father came from a more cosmopolitan background and had greater expectations placed on him.
I was taught to be independent very early on. As the elder daughter, I had all the responsibilities of the number one son. Even at a tender age, I felt compelled to demonstrate that I was equal to or better than a boy. This nagging compulsion pushed me to be very competitive right from the start. Somehow, I believed I had to work harder to prove my intelligence and capabilities.
When I was in high school, my father’s business failed, tarnishing his reputation in my family. I could feel the shame and judgment of all my relatives, so I added that to my need to prove something to myself and the rest of the family.
This burning feeling of needing to show my worth and redeem my extended family's respect drove me to hyper-speed. I finished university in three years. By the time I was 31, I was the general manager of a global agency, leading 120 people in my local office. When I was 32, I led business development across 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia.
My trajectory from global agency life to fashion and then to cannabis equipped me with sharp tools and the agility to adapt. I am fiercely comfortable in highly competitive environments.
OC: Your first foray into cannabis was at Papa & Barkley, how did that experience shape your views on the industry? And what lesson would you impart to those just entering the industry?
Having grown up with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), I was accustomed to plant-based remedies. I did not experience any stigma. As a matter of fact, there’s a tincture my great aunt made from opium leaves that my grandpa used to administer to us when we had bubbly tummies.
Papa & Barkley was the perfect start to my career in cannabis. No other brand is as committed to education and integrity towards clean, whole-plant medicine.
The co-founders of Papa & Barkley empowered me to build a high-performance team dedicated to being education-first and to capturing the first cannabis conversation. This allowed me to focus on the patient and the consumer and develop initiatives that partnered with dispensaries where brand<>patient/consumers<>commerce intersects.
For those who are entering the cannabis industry, my recommendations are: (i) Work with people you trust, admire, and can learn from. (ii) Have a healthy dose of hustle (iii) Don’t chase after the shiny things (iv) Know your worth.
OC: What I have learned in the last decade was that I was wrong about AAPI involvement in the cannabis industry, my first impression was that the AAPI community was against the legalization of cannabis, but what I have found to be true is that the community plays a very large and important role in cannabis. We all know the AAPI founders of major cannabis brands, Dae Lim of Sundae School, Casey Ly of Bloom, Rocky Huang of Timeless Vapes, but what we don’t see are the manufacturers who supply these brands with the hardware they need for their products.
Could you tell us about your new position at CCell and your goals for raising public awareness of the players behind the brands?
Since its inception, CCELL has been more of a behind-the-scenes company, powering cannabis brands with its hardware and technology. As the global Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, I aim to create an environment where customers and consumers can experience more of the company.
CCELL is very committed to R&D. A significant amount of revenue is allocated to research. We have PhD Scientists and Engineers on staff in the US and at HQ. We keep our patents valid and have immense manufacturing capabilities, unlike competitors who contract manufacture their hardware.
CCELL is a humble company that aligns with the attributes and values of innovation, imagination, and dependability. We are ‘dreamers’.
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