MJBizMag March 2023 - 47

INDUSTRY PLAYERS
Previously, she served as
HSN's operational vice president
of financial reporting and
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission compliance. She began
her career at big-four accounting
firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Malivuk replaces Rebecca Young,
who was vice president and chief
accounting officer.
Cannabis Roundtable
Expands Board
Phoenix-based Tilt Holdings, a
vertically integrated cannabis
company that also develops and
manufactures inhalation technologies,
announced that its CEO, Gary
Santo, was appointed to the board
of directors of the National Cannabis
Roundtable.
Founded in 2019, the NCR is a
nonpartisan alliance of cannabis
companies and ancillary services
and solutions providers working to
advance U.S. marijuana policy.
Diageo Alum Becomes CEO
at Humble & Fume
Jakob Ripshtein, board chair
at Toronto-based license holder
Humble & Fume, was appointed
CEO. He replaced Joel Toguri, who
stepped down as CEO to pursue
other career opportunities.
Since 2018, Ripshtein had
been with Aphria, where he was
president and chief commercial
officer. Aphria was acquired by
Tilray Brands in 2021.
Before entering cannabis, Ripshtein
spent more than two years as chief
financial officer of Diageo, the beverage
alcohol company, and nearly nine
years with Diageo Canada, where his
roles included president, senior vice
president of commercial strategy
and business performance as well as
global director of pricing and efficient
trade investment.
Ripshtein will retain his role as
board chair.
Mississippi Appoints Medical
Cannabis Acting Director
Laura Goodson, an attorney for
the Mississippi Medical Cannabis
Program (MCCP), was appointed the
agency's acting director.
Goodson takes over for former
director Kris Jones Adcock, who
is moving into a wider-ranging role
in the health department and will
continue to oversee the MMCP
Program.
BZAM Adds Billionaire
to Board of Directors
BZAM, the Canadian licensed
cannabis producer known until
late January as The Green Organic
Dutchman Holdings, appointed
Bassam Alghanim to its board
of directors, filling the vacancy
left by the resignation of Tony
Moschella.
Alghanim, who is a citizen of
Kuwait, is a billionaire who in the
1980s and 1990s managed and
expanded Alghanim Industries,
a multinational conglomerate.
Alghanim spearheaded the acquisition
of a controlling stake in Gulf
Bank, becoming chair in 1999. After
leading Gulf Bank for nearly 10
years, Alghanim moved on to hold
diplomatic posts.
Fintech Company Expands
Green Check Verified (GCV), a
provider of cannabis industry
fintech solutions, hired Staci Firios
as chief marketing officer and Brett
Puffenbarger as vice president of
marketing for its marijuana division.
Firios was most recently chief
marketing officer at Tier1 Financial
Solutions and previously was vice
president of marketing capabilities
and enablement at Prudential.
At GCV, she will be responsible
for marketing strategy and
performance, communications
initiatives and branding.
Puffenbarger recently
co-founded Good Highdeas, an
advisory and consulting firm that
works with cannabis businesses
on media, marketing and public
relations. He also served as interim
CEO of Buds for Vets, which helped
Florida veterans obtain medical
marijuana cards.
Jessica
Gonzalez
New Jersey Appoints
Cannabis Training Leader
The New Jersey Business Action
Center selected Jersey City attorney
Jessica Gonzalez and her firm,
Veridis Quo, as its consultant to
develop and launch the NJBAC
Cannabis Technical Assistance
Program and Training Academy.
Gonzalez and her team will
provide startup support and be
replaced by a permanent executive
director later in 2023. The New Jersey
Business Action Center is housed
in the secretary of state's office.
In addition to operating Veridis
Quo, Gonzalez is an attorney with
the Rudick Law Group in New York,
which she joined in January. Since
September 2022, she has been
an adjunct cannabis professor at
Hudson County Community College
and served as outside general
counsel for Minorities for Medical
Marijuana.
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 | March 2023 47
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MJBizMag March 2023

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