Cannabis companies have been successfully attracting some of corporate America’s top executive talent, something that few other industries have managed to do.
As such, it’s become somewhat of a common thing to see executives from Fortune 500 companies giving up their secure, traditional career paths in order to get in on an industry that’s still at the ground floor so to speak. Today saw a couple of cannabis companies announce major executive hires.
The first of these announcements came from Charlotte’s Web Holdings (CSE: CWEB), a leader in hemp-derived CBD products, which stated that Adrienne “Deanie” Eslner would be joining the company as it’s new CEO.
Elsner used to work as the President of the U.S. Snacks division of Kellogg Company and his skill set would complement the company’s vision of capturing the CBD-edibles market in the future.
“Deanie’s appointment is timely and aligns perfectly with our corporate evolution from the early stage organization we were just two years ago into a professionally managed public company with top-tier executive talent,” said Hess Moallem, current President and Chief Executive Officer of Charlotte’s Web. “Placing world-class marketing and sales expertise at the highest level of the Company is critical to further extend Charlotte’s Web’s leadership position in the market. Deanie is an incredibly dynamic business leader with an impressive track-record for growth and profitability at some of the world’s leading and most iconic CPG companies. We’re very excited to have such high-level talent coming on board to lead through this important time for the Company.”
The second corporate announcement saw a former Johnson & Johnson product director join MediPharm Labs (TSXV: LABS). Braden Fenske will be joining the company on April 29 in a new role as the Chief Strategy Officer for MediPharm. The executive brings 20 years of experience in a highly specialized healthcare sector
“We are thrilled to have Braden join our team at this pivotal moment in our history. With our leading extraction industry performance and momentum, our expanding portfolio of products, increasing customer base and deep pipeline of growth opportunities, we have demonstrated a clear potential for accelerated revenue growth,” said Patrick McCutcheon, CEO of MediPharm. “Braden’s proven record of success developing operational growth strategies, his unique understanding of the pharmaceutical and medical delivery systems industry, and his U.S. and worldwide healthcare relationships, will strengthen MediPharm Labs’ position as a trusted partner for customers, and clinical trials, as we remain at the leading edge of the industry and achieve our growth potential in this rapidly evolving market.”
“I am excited to be joining the MediPharm Labs’ team positioned at the forefront of this quickly evolving industry with demand for purified concentrates driving growth and innovation. I have been impressed by the depth and caliber of the talented management team, and the Company’s compelling platform to be the dominant provider of scaled cannabinoid-based derivative products for medical and recreational consumers globally,” added Branden.
Shares for Charlotte’s web increased 5.3 percent in response to the news, while MediPharm Lab’s saw shares stay relatively the same, inching up one percent on Monday.