Ken Frate, former director of sales and media productions at CannaCribs, joined Grow Glide as director of business development. At CannaCribs Frate was responsible for developing pre-production strategies and sales goals, and closed hundreds of million-dollar sponsorship deals across the cannabis industry.
“Ken not only brings a best in the cannabis business network of trusted relationships, he has a strategic vision to uplevel our entire sales organization and meet our very ambitious revenue goals,” said Grow Glide Chief Executive Officer Travis Schwarz. “This hiring is a key moment in our company and serves as a signal that Grow Glide is a serious player, not only with our vertical racking solution, but with the many other innovative cannabis growing solutions in our product pipeline.”
Cresco Labs appointed consumer packaged goods industry veteran Ty Gent to the role of chief operating officer. He brings to the company more than thirty-five years of CPG experience having most recently served as chief supply chain officer at US Foods. Prior to that, Gent spent thirty years in executive positions at PepsiCo.
“With the immense growth of Cresco Labs and our multi-state footprint, the scale and demands of our business have grown significantly,” said Cresco Labs co-founder and chief executive officer Charlie Bachtell. “Ty’s experience leading distribution and supply chain optimization for one of America’s largest food distributors and one of the leading CPG companies in the world will help Cresco Labs enhance its level of quality and service by driving operational execution as we significantly increase the scale of operations across our strategic multi-state footprint. He’s made a career of taking existing operations to the next level, optimizing integrated supply chains and building leaders within organizations—creating greater success at every stop along the way.”
Josh Rosen, co-founder, former chief executive officer, and current chairman at 4Front Ventures joined Bengal Capital as a managing partner. Former Cannex executive and General Counsel Jerry Derevyanny joined as a principal.
“Bengal has been immersed in the cannabis industry since our 2013 seed investment in Green Thumb Industries and Josh is as impressive as anyone we’ve met in the space,” said Bengal Capital founder and Managing Partner Sanjay Tolia. “He brings a successful investment and operating track record to Bengal, and we can’t imagine a better partner to help us identify, act upon, and unlock value in the special situations we see across the investment landscape. Above all, he’s an ideal culture fit for Bengal and I’m incredibly happy Josh agreed to partner with us.”
Colorado-based multistate cannabis operator Green Dragon expanded its executive team with three appointments in newly created roles: Chief Financial Officer Trey Handley, Retail Operations Director Jackie Coble, and General Counsel Daniel Kramer.
“With external growth, comes internal growth. Trey, Daniel, and Jackie are specialized in their fields, diversify our expertise, and are confident in the existing Green Dragon strategy,” said Green Dragon co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Alex Levine. “Our expansion is strategic and we’re setting our business up for success as this unique industry continues to evolve and Green Dragon continues to grow each year.”
Chief Operating Officer Greg Sutton stepped down from his position at Harborside Inc.
“On behalf of the whole team, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Greg for his contributions and tireless efforts during his tenure with Harborside,” said Harborside Interim Chief Executive Officer Peter Bilodeau. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Directorial and advisory board changes and additions:
Acreage Holdings appointed Katie Bayne to its board of directors. She brings to the company more than thirty years of experience in consumer marketing and operations. Bayne currently sits on the board at The Honest Company.
Marni Wieshofer joined the board of directors at Organigram Holdings. Her experience includes several executive roles including chief financial officer and executive vice president of corporate development at Lions Gate Entertainment, managing director at TMT Corporate Finance Group, and senior vice president of M&A and chief financial officer at Media Rights Capital.
357 Hemp Logistics appointed logistics expert Jeremy Powers to the role of strategic advisor. Powers is founder of LGS Group and co-founded logistics technology company Hangar A.
Trademark attorney Scott Thompson joined the advisory board at Viridian Capital Advisors. He recently served as general counsel—intellectual property/marketing properties for Mars Incorporated. He also has held senior roles at Philip Morris, Colgate-Palmolive, and GlaxoSmithKline.
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