NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2024 – PRESS RELEASE – The Cannabist Co. Holdings Inc., one of the largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers and retailers of cannabis products in the U.S., announced that, effective immediately, the company’s board of directors has appointed David Hart, previously the company’s president and chief operating officer, as the new CEO. The board also appointed
Jesse Channon, previously the company’s chief commercial officer, as president.
Nicholas Vita, former CEO, will continue to serve as a director of the company.
“We all owe Nick a debt of gratitude for having the vision to form what is now The Cannabist Company more than a decade ago,” Hart said. “It was his passion for serving people through cannabis that brought together the best teams and partners to deliver on the promise for our patients and customers. I have had the great pleasure of working with Nick at this company since 2016, and it is my humble honor to take the reins as CEO, working alongside a tremendously talented leadership team.
“The strength of the team and continued commitment to serving our communities will carry us into this next exciting chapter. We have implemented strategic organizational changes in recent quarters that have prepared us for this change. We are excited for what lies ahead and eager to continue the progress as The Cannabist Company evolves, from continuing to strengthen the balance sheet to expanding our wholesale program and driving organic growth.”
Vita co-founded The Cannabist Co., formerly Columbia Care, in 2012 when he became the company’s first employee. He has served as its CEO since then. Under his leadership, the company has grown to thousands of employees, encompasses 16 fully integrated markets in the U.S., generates more than $500 million in annual revenue, went public on a senior exchange in Canada, and serves countless patients and customers with high-quality products across the national portfolio.
“The Cannabist Company would not exist as it does today without Nick and his fortitude to lead us through the peaks and valleys of running a cannabis company,” Channon said. “His passion is infused in everything we do, and we are looking forward to building on those commitments we’ve made to bring a higher experience to everyone we serve and support, both internally and externally. I am incredibly proud to be stepping into this role and to have the opportunity to further shape and define our place as a leader in the cannabis industry.”
Vita said: “This decision to retire was not made lightly. Having been the longest serving CEO in the history of the industry, I am grateful to my team and our employees for their years of dedication, professionalism and tenacity. As the first employee, I have seen this company reach new heights and overcome tremendous challenges over the past 12 years. I am proud of the company we’ve built and am confident in the skilled leadership that will now steer the ship. Although my next endeavor is focused on the incredibly important, and deeply personal, task of groundbreaking research for ultrarare pediatric diseases via a gene therapy platform I helped to develop, I am pleased to remain on as a member of the board of directors and will continue to support the company as it enters this next chapter.”
“Founder, strategist, tactician, Nick poured his heart and soul into the company. His strategic guidance over the past 12 years paved the way for the exciting chapters ahead under David and Jesse’s leadership,” said
James A.C. Kennedy, member of the board.
Hart joined The Cannabist Co. in 2016 and became COO in 2018. Prior to joining the company, he served as COO of Abyrx, a venture capital-backed medical device company that developed, manufactured and commercialized a portfolio of intraoperative cross specialty hemostats. Prior to his time at Abyrx, Hart was chief financial officer and chief investment officer at Alpine Capital, a family investment office for the Ranawat Orthopedic Group at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he was responsible for capital allocations, direct private investments, and all health care investments. Hart was also previously the partner and head of health care equity investments at Apelles Investment Management. He started his career in the financial services industry in the mergers and acquisitions groups at Thomas Weisel Partners and Duff & Phelps. Hart has an MBA from Columbia University and is a graduate of Duke University.
Channon joined The Cannabist Co. in December 2019 as chief growth officer. Jesse is an accomplished and award-winning leader with a background in developing transformative technologies and digital marketing platforms, having advised and worked with some of the largest brands and agencies in the world. A member of the founding team at PageLever, a Y Combinator-backed company, Channon oversaw all revenue and partnerships, working with companies such as YouTube, Microsoft, Intel and Toyota to build one of the first real-time applications on Facebook’s API and earning certification in the first wave of preferred marketing developers. In 2013, PageLever sold to Unified, a New York City-based ad tech company, where Channon spent six years on the senior management team. After Unified, he served as chief revenue officer for Social Native, a custom content marketplace. Channon also serves on the entrepreneurship advisory board for the Harbert School of Business at his alma mater Auburn University.
