Multi-state operator Justice Grown appointed Gregg Carlson to the role of chief financial officer. His more than thirty years of professional experience includes leading company acquisitions and sales transactions, performing public and private company turnarounds, and serving as an international financial advisor to Fortune 500 executives.
“We are extremely excited to bring Gregg on board,” said Justice Grown Chief Executive Officer Darin Carpenter. “His expertise is key to accomplishing Justice Grown’s 2021 growth and expansive initiatives and we feel fortunate to have someone of his caliber and experience on our executive management team.”
California-based cannabis wellness products company Papa & Barkley made several changes to its executive team: Zeeshan Hyder joined the company as chief financial officer and Evelyn Wang joined as chief executive officer, replacing Adam Grossman who will transition to executive chairman of the board of directors.
“It has been a tremendous honor to serve as the CEO of Papa & Barkley since founding the company,” said Grossman. “I am incredibly proud of everything our team has accomplished together in just five years. We have earned our position as the top wellness brand in Cannabis—our products truly change people’s lives. The board and I are confident that Evelyn is the right leader to build on our momentum and brand, adding depth to our stellar executive team. Zeeshan is a tremendous addition as well, bringing strong financial management experience and an extensive knowledge of the cannabis M&A landscape.”
Supply chain management company Radiant Farm hired Newton Paskin to the role of chief operating officer. He brings to the company thirty years of global experience as a senior operating executive in high tech, consumer electronics, artificial intelligence, robotics, and fashion.
“It is exceedingly rare to find in the cannabis industry a supply chain executive with the expertise and entrepreneurial success that Newton Paskin brings,” said Radiant Chief Executive Officer Aaron Selverston. “With an unwavering dedication to process improvement and scalability, Newton’s leadership ensures that Radiant is extremely strongly positioned to efficiently continue our explosive growth while delivering ever-improved service to our stakeholders.”
California retailer Perfect Union added three executives to its roster: Chief Operating Officer Greg Sutton, Senior Vice President of Operations Lisah Poore, and Vice President of Legal Affairs Arturo Sanchez. Sutton and Poore both joined the company from Harborside Inc. where they served as COO and chief retail officer, respectively. Sanchez previously served as vice president of compliance at Terra Tech.
“We’re proud to have these cannabis pioneers join the Perfect Union family,” said Perfect UnionChief Executive Officer David Spradlin. “Lisa, Arturo, and Greg’s accomplishments, expertise, and passion will help drive our mission to ensure quality in everything we do while giving back to those we serve, as well as further accelerate Perfect Union’s growth in becoming the preeminent cannabis retailer in California, the world’s largest legal market.”
Distributor and supply chain solutions company HERBL appointed Tom Grillea as chief revenue officer. Prior to joining the company, Grillea served as chief executive officer at Threshold Enterprises and as divisional president at United Natural Foods, Inc.
“I was fortunate to work with Tom during my time at UNFI and we share a focus on developing a strong company culture and a partner relationship structure that puts brand customers first,” said Mike Beaudry, founder and chief executive officer at HERBL. “His people-focused leadership style empowers teams to consistently deliver great results and he’s a very welcome addition to the HERBL family as we work to drive the industry forward in the state and beyond.”
Allison Siegel joined Maryland cannabis brand CULTA in the role of chief operating officer. She previously served as president at Next Day Blinds and as an IT and marketing executive at Total Wine & More.
“Ms. Siegel will play a key role in facilitating CULTA’s continued growth,” said CULTA Co-founder and President Mackie Barch. “Single-state focused, independent operators, are dominating most cannabis markets nationally and we’re starting to attract real talent. We are thrilled Ms. Siegel is joining the CULTA team and look forward to working with her to take the CULTA brand to the next level.”
Marijuana Company of America board member Marco Guerrero was named vice president of MCOA subsidiaries hempSMART Brazil and hempSMART Uruguay.
“We are excited to have Marco take on this role and propel us to a higher level of international production and distribution opportunities,” said MCOA Chief Executive Officer Jesus M. Quintero. “Marco is an excellent board member, and we have full confidence in his ability to help drive MCOA’s global expansion. His expertise in Latin America in particular strengthens our ability to distribute our premium CBD and hemp-derived hempSMART product line for the first time in Brazil, a country with a population of over 212 million consumers.
“Marco is a trusted advisor who can ensure our success as we navigate our way through Latin America,” Quintero added. “His extensive professional experience is rooted in the reinsurance industry, medical and business communities in both Uruguay and Brazil. This will serve us well as we have initiated our efforts in communicating directly with medical professionals about bringing our products to Latin America.”
Organigram Holdings Senior Vice President of Operations Matt Rogers will leave his position with the company in May 2021. His replacement has not yet been announced.
“Matt has embraced the challenges and opportunities of the cannabis industry. His insights and creativity have been instrumental as we have worked to develop a state-of-the-art production facility,” said Organigram Chief Executive Officer Greg Engel. “We would like to thank Matt for his commitment to a seamless transition and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Directorial and advisory board changes and additions:
Following the resignation of board member and former Chief Executive Officer Robert Cheney, Todd Harrison joined the board of directors at C21 Investments Inc. Harrison currently serves as chief investment officer as Capital Management and previously served as vice president at Morgan Stanley.
Aleafia Health appointed Lu Galasso and Carlo Sistilli as independent members to its board of directors. Galasso will be appointed to the Strategic Planning Committee and Sistilli will be appointed to the Audit Committee.
Willie J. McKinney joined the scientific and strategic advisory board at Labstat International. He also serves on FDA’s tobacco product scientific advisory committee as the non-voting representative of the tobacco manufacturing industry and was on the advisory board of the ENDS US 2019 conferences.
HEXO Corp appointed Rose Marie Gage to its board of directors. Gage brings to the panel more than thirty years of experience in business development, strategy, communications, execution, and governance.
The Arcview Group added industry expert Jason Malcolm to its management consulting team where he will co-lead as principal alongside industry veteran, David Abernathy.
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