Marijuana Business Magazine October 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | October 2019 118 Kadens stepped down as CEO of GTI in August 2018 and currently spends his time on The Kadens Family Foundation, a charitable organization focused on closing the wealth gap in the United States, and other philanthropic groups. He also sits on the board of directors of the Cannabis Trade Federation, an organ- ization working on federal cannabis policy reform. Leafly Gets New COO Leafly, a Seattle-based cannabis information site, hired retail executive Kirk Beardsley as chief operations officer. Beardsley most recently served as executive vice president of strategic growth and head of Trunkclub at Nordstrom. In his eight years at Nordstrom, he held key roles including EVP of marketing, EVP of enterprise technology and innovation and EVP of e-commerce and online merchandising. Before Nordstrom, he led global e-commerce at the Microsoft Store and has held multiple leadership roles at Amazon. Former Attorney General Joins Canadian Hemp Company Matthew Whittaker , who was appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump to succeed anti-cannabis zealot Jeffery Sessions as interim U.S. attorney general, has been appointed along with his law firm, Graves Garrett, to serve as outside counsel to Alternate Health Corp., a Toronto CBD product development and distribution company. Whitaker served as acting attor- ney general of the United States from November 2018 to February 2019 and as chief of staff to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions from September 2017 to November 2018. Before that, Whitaker served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. Whitaker is now affiliated with the Graves Garrett law firm in addi- tion to serving as managing director for Axiom Strategies/Clout Public Affairs. Former Dixie CEO Joins African Grow Tripp Keber , a co-founder and former CEO of well-known infused product company Dixie Brands in Denver, has been appointed strategic adviser to the board of EXMceuticals, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based cannabis cultivation company working on launching operations in Uganda, Malawi and other jurisdictions. Keber stepped down from Dixie in December 2017. New CEO at Golden Leaf Golden Leaf Holdings, a Toronto cannabis oil company with operations in Canada, Nevada and Oregon, announced that Jeffrey Yapp will succeed John Varghese as CEO. Varghese, who served as interim CEO, will become executive chair and lead all capital markets-related activities. Yapp joined the board of directors upon the Sept. 2 resignation of independent director Gary Zipfel. Previously, Yapp served as founder and CEO of Wutznxt, a strategic marketing and consulting firm that works with businesses ranging from startups to Fortune 25 companies. Yapp helped launch brands such as Vice Media, Guitar Hero and Rock Band and has also worked with Microsoft, Viacom MTV, PepsiCo, NewsCorp, Twentieth Century Fox, Cablevision and Kraft. Vancouver Biopharmaceutical Firm Gets New CEO Pivot Pharmaceuticals, a Vancouver, British Columbia, company that develops cannabinoid-based nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, has appointed Toni Rinow as chief executive officer and Dr. Wolfgang Renz as regional manager-Europe. Renz is currently Pivot’s chief medical officer. Since 2001, Rinow has held executive or senior posts at six different medical and biopharmaceutical companies in Canada—most recently as general manager at Jubilant Draxlmage and CFO and COO at Isologic Innovative Radiopharmaceuticals. Renz is a former corporate vice president at Boehringer Ingelheim GmBH, where he had global responsibility for new business models and health-care innovation. He is also adjunct professor of experimental surgery at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine.  Rising California MJ Firm Taps Ex-MedMen Spokesman Daniel Yi , former senior vice presi- dent of corporate communications for MedMen, a well-known multistate operator headquartered in California, has landed at The Shryne Group, a vertically integrated holding company Pete Kadens Courtesy Photo Industry Players | New Hires & Promotions