MJBiz - July/August 2024 - 50

INDUSTRY PLAYERS New Hires & Promotions
Hodas to Replace Whiteman as Wana CEO
Nancy Whiteman, the co-founder and CEO of Colorado-based
cannabis edibles company Wana Brands, relinquished the top post in
May to focus on philanthropic endeavors. Whiteman will be succeeded
by Chief Marketing Officer Joe Hodas, who's been at the company for
four years and in the cannabis industry for 12 years.
An industry vanguard who established one of the largest edibles
brands in the industry in 2010, Whiteman said in a LinkedIn post that
she would " remain involved as a strategic advisor to Joe and the leadership
team and to assist the team in Wana's international expansion. "
In 2021, Whiteman entered a $297.5 million deal that positioned
Wana for a sale to Canadian operator Canopy Growth Corp., a deal
contingent on the U.S. government legalizing marijuana.
She added in the LinkedIn post that her transition coincides with
" the formation of Canopy USA, which will enable Canopy to exercise its option to purchase Wana
and bring its three U.S. entities-Wana, Jetty and Acreage-into one integrated company. "
Hodas is a longtime communications veteran whose pre-cannabis posts included senior director
of corporate communications and investor relations for Frontier Airlines. He broke into cannabis
in 2014 as the chief marketing officer at Dixie Elixirs, where he spent four years before holding
communications posts at GoFire, MedPharm Holdings and General Cannabis Corp.
Leadership Shake-ups
at New York Regulator
New York's Office of Cannabis
Management (OCM) is seeking
a replacement for its ousted
leader and getting acquainted
with several other new faces
following a leadership shake-up
this spring.
Just before Memorial Day,
Chris Alexander resigned as
executive director of the OCM
after an announcement two
weeks earlier by Gov. Kathy
Hochul that he would not be
reappointed. Hochul's decision
followed a review of the agency,
which has been blamed for the
troubled rollout of the state's
recreational marijuana program.
Hochul appointed Alexander
to oversee the OCM in 2021.
In June, Hochul appointed
two executives with state-government
ties to the OCM and
promoted a third:
* Felicia Reid, as executive
deputy director and acting
executive director.
50 July-August 2024 | MJBizMagazine
* Susan Filburn, as chief
administrative officer.
*
Jessica Woolford, promoted
to director of external affairs.
Reid, who has spent more
than a decade in stategovernment
positions, will
oversee operational and
regulatory functions, including
licensing, compliance and
enforcement.
Filburn, who's spent 20 years
in state-government leadership
roles, will take on a newly
created position focused on
supporting and improving
licensing, compliance and
enforcement operations.
Woolford, who's served as the
OCM's communications director
since October, now will focus
on community engagement and
establish the agency's customerservice
team to help applicants,
licensees and consumers.
The governor's office also
said a nationwide search would
be conducted for a permanent
executive director.
Safe Harbor CEO
Joins Board
Safe Harbor Financial, a
cannabis-focused financialservices
firm and credit
provider, announced that its
board of directors appointed
Chief Executive Officer Sundie
Seefried as board member.
Seefried fills the vacancy created
by the resignation of John
Darwin, co-CEO of Northern
Lights Acquisition Corp. and
co-founder and managing
partner of Luminous Capital.
Seefried is one of the earliest
pioneers of cannabis finance. As
the former CEO of Partner Colorado
Credit Union, she established
its Safe Harbor Private
Banking program for cannabis
businesses in 2014. In 2021, the
program became its own independent
business, Safe Harbor
Financial, and Seefried left her
post as CEO of Partner Colorado
to become chief executive
of the new business, which
listed on the Nadaq in 2022.

MJBiz - July/August 2024

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