Marijuana Business Magazine April 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2020 102 IndustryPlayers | New Hires & Promotions private-equity firm in Boca Raton, Florida. Justin Dye , managing general partner at Dye Capital, became Medicine Man’s CEO in December. Williams was appointed CEO of Medicine Man last April, after the unexpected death of Brett Roper , who had held the top position. Ex-Cargill Extraction Chief Joins Florida CBD Company Matthew Turner , an international extraction and refining expert, joined the executive leadership team of Fort Lauderdale-based Green Point Research as chief science officer and will oversee the company’s extraction and refining operations. Turner brings experience from roles including global manufacturing operations manager of Cargill’s extraction and refining plants. He also has led manufacturing, engineering and operations for Golden Peanut, Justin’s Nut Butter and was the former CEO of DeSmet Ballestra, an edible-oil extraction and refining business.  Canadian Cannabis Pioneer Joins 1933 Industries Jeannette VanderMarel, a Canadian cannabis pioneer, joined vertically integrated 1933 Industries in Vancouver, British Columbia, as an adviser in the areas of business development and corporate governance. VanderMarel founded cannabis companies such as The Green Organic Dutchman and Good and Green, the latter of which was acquired by 48North. Leadership Changes at Miami MSO Miami-based Cansortium, a vertically integrated cannabis company with operations in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas, announced that Neal Hochberg , chair of the board of directors, has been appointed executive chair after the resignation of co-founder and CEO Jose Hidalgo . Hochberg is a vice president at Charles River Associates and was the global leader of the Forensic and Litigation Consulting segment at FTI Consulting from 2008 until 2017 and served on the firm’s executive committee. His career also includes service as a forensic and litigation partner at two of the Big Four global accounting firms. Unilever Vet Joins Quebec License Holder Neptune Wellness Solutions, a licensed producer from Laval, Quebec, appointed Scott Antony as senior vice president of U.S. retail sales. Antony joins Neptune from Uni- lever North America, where he held a variety of senior leadership positions since joining the company in 1986. Most recently, Antony served as vice president of sales for Unilever’s Target Division, where he developed and managed the company’s relation- ship with retailer Target, one of Unile- ver’s largest and most strategic cus- tomers in North America. Antony also led Unilever’s Safeway Division and held the positions of director of sales strategy and operations, director of business development and director of sales strategy and integration. Cannabis Farm Taps Culinary Ag Specialist Sonoma Hills Farm, a craft cannabis farm and culinary garden in Sonoma County, California, appointed Aaron Keefer as vice president of cultivation and production. Keefer has been an adviser to Sonoma Hills Farm since 2018 and most recently worked as head culinary farmer for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, which includes three-Michelin-starred restaurant The French Laundry in Yountville, California.  He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious farming conferences and also taught at Google’s teaching kitchen as part of their farm-to-table program. In recent years, Keefer advised three-Michelin-starred eateries SingleThread and Saison farms. He also has cultivated cannabis for Grassroots and The Apothecarium in San Francisco. Last fall, Sonoma Hills Farm was granted the first 1-acre conditional- use permit for a cannabis grow in Sonoma County. The first harvest is planned for late 2020.   Denver Law Firm Names MJ Practice Head Denver-based Fortis Law Partners named Alyson Jaen as head of its expanding cannabis practice. Jaen represents clients before state regulatory agencies such as the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses. Jaen was previously at a Denver law firm where she advised public and private companies on federal enforcement risks in legal cannabis markets and has assisted in more than $1 billion in transactions for the cannabis industry. She earned her law degree in 2014 from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Maine Cannabis Company Gets Operations Leader Sweet Dirt, a vertically integrated cannabis company in Eliot, Maine, appointed Jessica Oliver to vice president of cannabis operations. Oliver most recently was Sweet Dirt’s director of retail operations. In her expanded role, Oliver will continue to lead a growing retail team but will also connect with cultivation, finance, compliance and