Marijuana Business Magazine January 2020

January 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 101 at Open Text and DWL. Jonasson holds accounting certificates in Can- ada and the United States.  Florida MSO Gets COO Boca Raton-based Stem Holdings, a vertically integrated multistate operator (MSO), hired Ellen Deutsch as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Deutsch was most recently a senior vice president and chief marketing officer at The Hain Celestial Group, an international organic food and personal-care products company. Finance and Law Expert to Chair Cansortium Board The board of directors at Cansortium, a multistate cannabis business headquartered in Miami, elected independent director Neal Hochberg to serve as nonexecutive chair. Hochberg, a certified public accountant, was a financial advisory partner at Big 4 accounting firms and is a senior adviser to the leadership of FTI Consulting’s forensic and litigation segment, previously serving on FTI’s executive committee. He was also recently appointed by the Supreme Court of Florida to the state’s Board of Bar Examiners. GB Sciences Exec Joins Nevada Rival Las Vegas-based CLS Holdings USA, a diversified cannabis company operating as Cannabis Life Sciences, appointed Dominick Monaco as director of plant operations at City Trees, the company’s branded prod- ucts and bulk-flower subsidiary. In his new role, Monaco is responsible for the daily management and coordi- nation of plant operations, including production, quality and logistics. Most recently, he held several exec- utive positions at GB Sciences, a Nevada-based cannabis company. GB Sciences Taps Patent and IP Attorney for Board Las Vegas-based GB Sciences appointed attorney Edmond DeFrank to its board of directors. DeFrank specializes in patent and intellectual property in the cannabis space. Hoban Expands Mexican Expertise The Hoban Law Group in Denver hired Luis Armendariz , a licensed attorney in Mexico with expertise in cross-border business law and corporate transactions. Early in his career, Armendariz was an associate for Santamarina y Steta and Quin- tanilla y Asociados, both in Mexico. He also spent three years at the Phoenix office of Bryan Cave (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner), where he represented U.S. companies on multijurisdictional transactions and commercial matters involving Mexico and Latin America in various industries. He co-founded the firm currently known as CAAM Legal and has advised U.S. and Canadian com- panies, law firms and consultants on Mexico’s cannabis industry. Parallel Appoints COO Parallel, an Atlanta-based MSO formerly known as Surterra Wellness, chose Kevin Fisher as chief operating officer. Fisher was most recently CEO of two Massachusetts companies acquired by Parallel in September: New England Treatment Access, a vertically integrated cannabis company, and Molecular Infusions, a cannabis-focused biopharmaceutical company. Fisher also founded Rocky Mountain Remedies, one of Colora- do’s first medical cannabis licensees, in 2009. As COO, Fisher is respon- sible for Parallel’s core day-to-day operations and leads commercial and operational implementation of cor- porate strategy across Parallel’s four current operating markets of Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada and Texas.  Viridian Adds Banker, Dixie Founder New York-based Viridian Capital Advisors has hired banker Kevin Sarsany for its finance team and appointed Dixie Brands co-founder and former CEO Tripp Keber to its advisory board. Sarsany has been a member of CrossBay Capital Partners and senior managing director of The Spectrum Group, a Washington DC consulting firm. He also spent 15 years as an equity research analyst with investment banking firms William Blair, Soleil and Next Generation Equity Research. Keber is currently managing director of Right Side Advisory Services, a hemp and cannabis- centric advisory firm in Denver. Choom Changes Choom Holdings, a cannabis com- pany in Vancouver, British Columbia, appointed Corey Gillon to the post of CEO and to its board of directors. Former CEO Chris Bogart will serve as president. Gillon held various leaderships posts during an 18-year career at Walmart and also served as senior vice president of retail oper- ations at Aritzia, a women’s fashion retailer. Gillon will also take over the responsibilities of Michael Forbes, who stepped down as chief operating officer and director. Tripp Keber Courtesy Photo