Marijuana Business Magazine May-June 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | May-June 2019 140 will oversee the company’s portfolio of media, events and licensed properties. Adam Levin , who has served as High Times’ CEO since its acquisition by High Times Holding in 2017, becomes the company’s executive chairman. Tilray Nabs Goldman Vet for Chief Development Post Canadian marijuana cultivator Tilray hired former Goldman Sachs man- aging director Andrew Pucher as chief corporate development officer. Pucher most recently covered canna- bis stocks for Goldman as part of his role as managing director and head of Canadian diversified investment banking. He also was a member of Goldman Sachs’ Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group in New York, where he advised on more than $200 billion in announced M&A and financing transactions, with a focus on the biopharmaceutical sector. In his new role, Pucher will lead Tilray’s corporate development func- tion, including the team responsible for M&A and corporate investments. He will be based in Toronto and report to CEO Brendan Kennedy.  Acreage Taps Brand Expert, Marketing Pro New York-based Acreage Hold- ings—one of the largest multistate cannabis companies in the United States—hired Stacey Kawahata as vice president of consumer insights and brand strategy. Joen Choe was brought on board as vice president of marketing. Both executives will report directly to chief marketing officer Harris Damashek. Kawahata previously spent four- plus years at Vice Media, where she led global brand, content and partnership strategy for the firm’s commercial and editorial arm. She also worked in Vice’s internal agency, Virtue, where she led strategy across several Vice partnerships with companies such as Samsung, Diageo and ABI. In her role at Acreage, Kawahata will be responsible for crafting brands and creating marketing strategies and programs. Choe drove brand and commercial marketing for companies such as Nike, Luxottica, Absolut Vodka and Vitamin Water (Coca-Cola). Choe also held a leadership role at Tangram, a startup in mobile health and wellness with products sold at Apple, Best Buy and Target before it was acquired by Kakao Ventures. Twitter Exec Takes Marketing Helm at Cannabis Company San Francisco-based NorCal Cannabis appointed Joel Lunenfeld , formerly vice president of global brand strategy at Twitter, as chief marketing officer. Lunenfeld will be responsible for building NorCal’s corporate identity, branding and retail concepts and increasing sales through successful marketing, content and communications. Lunenfeld was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement in 2015. Maine Hires Health Department Deputy to Run Rec Program The Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services hired the state’s deputy commissioner of health services, Scott Lever , to become director of its recreational marijuana program. As deputy health commissioner, Lever oversaw the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which is the former home of the state medical marijuana program, as well as the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. Stacey Kawahata Joen Choe Industry Players | New Hires & Promotions