Tilray Tilray and Aphria closed a $4 billion mega-merger last week. The vote was delayed because the companies struggled to get retail shareholders to show up and vote. Tilray's CEO Irwin Simon said it's a new challenge for M&A in cannabis and other industries. Irwin Simon knows a thing or two about putting together deals. As the founder and CEO of Hain Celestial from 1993 to 2018, he pursued 55 acquisitions as he built up the health foods and supplements company, gaining a reputation on Wall Street as an expert dealmaker. After leaving Hain Celestial in 2018, Simon joined the board of Canadian cannabis company Aphria. He took over as CEO in March 2019, then helped engineer a merger with rival Canadian cannabis giant Tilray, which closed this month.