Cannabis Jobs by Andrew Ward

Author:Andrew Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510749528
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2020-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

9

Board Leaders and Executives

“A cannabis company must be agile and have a solid handle on navigating through regulations, running a business with unique challenges, staying informed at the state and local level, and creating a healthy employee work environment,” explains Autumn Shelton, owner and CFO of Autumn Brands. What is true of the cannabis company begins with the people leading the organization. Today, the need for experts in company leadership and other vital decision-making positions is apparent. Without a capable and compliant leader (or leaders) at the top, a company is sure to falter.

Harborside dispensary co-founder and activist Steve DeAngelo knows this all too well. He saw how the legacy individuals—those that helped build the industry while it was an entirely or mostly illicit market—in the business often did not have the mainstream business know-how to thrive in the modern market as it came to be. “We didn’t have the opportunity to develop a lot of these skill sets that are needed to be successful in today’s cannabis market,” the industry veteran pointed out. “If we marketed or packaged or labeled our products, law enforcement would follow those products back to us.” Legacy cannabis individuals were more likely to know how to run an illegal operation, but the new reality for cannabis was quite a foreign concept.

When legalization reached California, many legacy individuals were unaware of how to seek out investors, engage with banks, or just set up a legal business structure. DeAngelo explains, “We did the best we could with the guidance that we held from the gray market, but there wasn’t much of it.” A need for experienced business leaders was required, and continues to grow in demand today as a growing number of cannabis companies become mega players.

It is vital to remember that cannabis replicates the rest of the market. Because of this, company leaders from virtually any walk of life can become an executive or high-level manager. In California, where the rules are often evolving, Autumn Shelton understands the importance of quality decision makers. “Regulations in California and how you interpret them have changed daily over the last year and a half. It’s important to have executive leadership in every sector of the cannabis market.”

Nick Kovacevich is CEO of KushCo Holdings Inc., one of the top performing companies in cannabis today. Kovacevich echoes Shelton’s sentiment that, as these young companies scale their business model and even go public, the need for top-quality executive leadership grows. He explained where his company and others seek out executives from other sectors. “You’re already seeing it,” he notes, adding, “GTI, KushCo, MedMen are all bringing in high-power executives from CPG, tech, and more.”

Shelton and Kovacevich represent two of the varying ways a person can become a business leader in the sector. Kovacevich got into cannabis right after college, where he majored in sports management. In 2010, he co-founded what was then Kush Bottles. Since then, his company has grown into a cannabis behemoth. The company re-branded into KushCo Holdings in 2018, and then re-branded the primary business unit from Kush Bottles to Kush Supply Co.

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