Another change at the top: Marijuana MSO MedMen taps Ellen Deutsch as CEO

California-based marijuana multistate operator MedMen Enterprises hired Ellen Deutsch as CEO and Amit Pandey as chief financial officer.

One of the few women installed in the top role at a marijuana MSO, Deutsch “succeeds interim CEO Edward Record” effective immediately, according to a news release.

Deutsch is at least the fifth CEO to lead MedMen since January 2020.

“Ellen’s leadership and strong operational experience in the public cannabis sector will prove invaluable as we complete our restructuring plan and transition into a new phase of growth for the company,” MedMen Chair Michael Serruya said in a statement.

Serruya served as interim CEO from November 2021 to April 2022, when Record took the top post.

Record was not given an “interim” tag at the time of his hire. He will retain his board seat.

Deutsch most recently served as senior vice president of market development and shared services at Chicago-based MSO Acreage Holdings.

She also served as executive vice president/chief operating officer at Florida-headquartered, vertically integrated Stem Holdings.

Pandey will take over the finance role July 24, according to the release.

He replaces Ana Bowman, who resigned June 29, less than 18 months after taking the job.

MedMen did not provide a reason for Bowman’s resignation in a release.

The C-suite additions complete the build-out of the new management team, MedMen said.

The executive shake-up comes amid significant changes at the company.

In February, the MSO hired ATB Capital Markets to potentially help the company divest assets in three states.

According to a release at the time, MedMen said restructuring efforts reduced payroll expenses by 34% and helped the company return to a positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a key financial metric of performance.

MedMen has faced a long list of challenges in the past year, ranging from offloading its Florida assets for $16 million less than the original offer to the failed sale of its New York assets to MSO Ascend Wellness.

In recent regulatory filings, MedMen has raised “substantial doubts” about its ability to meet financial obligations and has noted “its cash needs are significant and not achievable” with cash flow from operations.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-operator-medmen-taps-ellen-deutsch-as-ceo/