Longtime marijuana industry executive Robert Fireman, chair and CEO of multistate operator MariMed, died unexpectedly on Dec. 11.
According to a news release announcing his death, Fireman served as CEO of MariMed since 2017 and as a member of the board of directors since the Norwood, Massachusetts-based company’s formation in 2011.
“At the time of the company’s last proxy filing in September, Fireman was 74,” The Boston Globe reported.
MariMed did not disclose the cause of death, according to the newspaper.
The company told the Globe it’s not ready to discuss a succession plan.
Since its founding, MariMed has won cannabis licenses in several states across the United States and operates marijuana cultivation, production and retail facilities.
“I want partners in every cannabis-legal state in the country, and partners will be manufacturing (and) distribution,” Fireman told MJBizMagazine in 2018.
“I want to be in the 5,000-plus dispensaries in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado – so that if we have a great product that resonates, we can put it everywhere.”
In 2013, along with Tim Shaw, Fireman opened Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana dispensary, the Thomas C. Slater Center.
Fireman is survived by his wife and partner of nearly 30 years, Ellen Porter Fireman.
“Bob Fireman worked tirelessly and passionately until his last day as Chairman and CEO of MariMed to fulfill our mission of improving people’s lives, much as he did as a philanthropist who cared so deeply about the people and community around him,” MariMed President Jon Levine said in a statement.
