MJBizMag February 2023 - 47

INDUSTRY PLAYERS
Bodner is a member of the
advisory board of Treehouse
Global Ventures. Before joining the
cannabis industry, her positions
included chief operating officer
of the New York City Opera,
director of project development
for the Empire State Development
Corp. and strategic consultant for
Women's World Banking.
Shasheen Shah, CEO of Coherent
Strategies, also joins the board of
Curaleaf as an independent director.
As a leadership development coach
and adviser to global executives,
he has worked with Barclays, Credit
Suisse, Goldman Sachs, LinkedIn and
Tesla, among others.
Shah is the author of " The Kid and
the King: The Hidden Inner Struggle
High Achievers Must Conquer to
Reignite and Re-engage with Life. "
Curaleaf's board of directors now
consists of eight members.
Dutchie Appoints New CEO
as Founders Step Down
Bend, Oregon-based marijuana
tech company Dutchie has a new
CEO, and its co-founders, brothers
Ross Lipson and Zach Lipson, are
stepping down (see related item on
page 14).
According to a news release,
Executive Chair Tim Barash will be
the privately held company's new
chief executive officer.
Before joining Dutchie, Barash
was the chief business officer and
chief financial officer at Toast, a
restaurant management software
company.
The news release also noted that
" Ross and Zach Lipson have departed
the company after a long tenure
of driving growth, passion, and
innovation in the cannabis industry. "
No additional details about
the shake-up were provided,
and Dutchie did not immediately
respond to an MJBizDaily request
for comment.
Connecticut MJ Official Leaves
Before Adult-use Sales Launch
Andrea Comer stepped down as
chair of the Social Equity Council for
Connecticut's recreational marijuana
industry less than two weeks
before the state's adult-use market
launched in January.
Comer also left her post as
deputy commissioner of the
state's Department of Consumer
Protection (DCP) at the end
of December, according to the
Hartford Business Journal.
She will serve as chief of staff
for incoming State Treasurer Erick
Russell.
As of press time, the DCP had not
appointed replacements for Comer's
roles as deputy commissioner or
Social Equity Council chair.
Fire & Flower Makes
Interim CFO Permanent
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp., a
Toronto-based cannabis consumer
retail and technology platform,
appointed John Chou as chief
financial officer. Chou was named
interim CFO on Nov. 21, 2022.
" During Mr. Chou's work as
interim chief financial officer, he
has contributed toward growing the
strategic objectives of the business
and has built strong relationships
with our key team members
and our board of directors, " said
Stéphane Trudel, Fire & Flower CEO.
Prior to joining Fire & Flower,
Chou was CFO at The Flowr Corp.
and Terrace Global, both in Toronto;
and vice president of finance at
Gran Colombia Gold Corp. and
Frontera Energy Corp.
Hired or promoted someone for a
senior-level position? Send a news
release or general information to
Omar Sacirbey at omar.sacirbey@
mjbizdaily.com.
mjbizdaily.com | February 2023 47
The company also announced
three other appointments:
* Nick DeLeonardis, formerly
a senior vice president and
general manager at Toast, will
be Dutchie's new chief financial
officer.
* John Kelleher, formerly
general counsel at customer
relationship management
software company HubSpot, is
now general counsel.
* Michael Lee, a former vice
president of engineering
at Toast, is Dutchie's vice
president of engineering.
Andrea
Comer
" Deputy Commissioner Comer
has been an invaluable member of
our team over the past 16 months,
helping to launch a newly regulated
cannabis market through both her
role as DCP Deputy Commissioner
and her position on the Social
Equity Council, where she led with
grace, " DCP Commissioner Michelle
Seagull said in a statement.
Maine Taps Brookings'
John Hudak as Cannabis Chief
Maine hired the Brookings
Institution's John Hudak to serve
as director of the state's Office of
Cannabis Policy.
Hudak spent more than 10 years
at Brookings, frequently analyzing
and writing about cannabis
legalization and industry trends.
Starting Dec. 30, he replaced Erik
Gunderson, who resigned in October.
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