Bhavana Rao is a Senior Advisor, Cannabis Industry Services at First Key Consulting. Bhavana is a food scientist, chemical engineer and holds an MBA along with a decade of experience in the areas of food, cannabis and the brewing industry. At First Key she works with clients specializing in project management, engineering and product innovation where she blends her scientific rigor with strategic acumen.

Prior to joining First Key, Bhavana worked as a consultant on projects in Canada, India, United Arab Emirates and South Africa. She created and facilitated food science education workshops and was the Director of Product Development at Christina Lake Cannabis where she spearheaded the design, commissioning, and scale-up of a CAD$15M facility, seamlessly transitioning from construction to operations ahead of schedule. Before that, Bhavana headed the research and development at Blissco Cannabis Corp, a subsidiary of Supreme Cannabis (now owned by Canopy Growth). Earlier, Bhavana worked as laboratory marketing associate at Hops Connect where she spearheaded a product marketing program to drive business growth for BC’s first hops testing laboratory leading to 60% increase in revenue.

Bhavana received her Master of Business Administration from the University of British Columbia in Canada (UBC) where she received the Dean’s Entrance Scholarship, Achieved Top GIE Academic Performer, and Ambassador Award. She also received her Master of Food Science from UBC and Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from BMS College Of Engineering in Bangalore, India where she was recognized with the Outstanding Student Award. Outside of First Key, Bhavana is an avid hiker, yoga practitioner and enjoys paddleboarding. She resides in Vancouver, Canada.