Charlie Bachtell has served as Cresco Labs’ Chief Executive Officer since February 2015.  His vision is to create an organizational culture where employees feel empowered, valued and appreciated and serve as owners, stewards and leaders of the cannabis industry—a leadership style with core values established early on that has guided Cresco Labs as an efficient growth company and are shaping cannabis into a robust and responsible industry.

Prior to co-founding Cresco Labs, Mr. Bachtell worked for a decade at Guaranteed Rate as its Executive Vice President and General Counsel.  In this role, he guided the company as the mortgage industry transitioned from unregulated to hyperregulated, with a state-by-state regulatory framework.  Through this unique experience, Mr. Bachtell is one of the leading authorities on corporate governance and complex regulatory compliance in the cannabis industry.

Currently, Mr. Bachtell is the Chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable.  He is a founding member of the Illinois Cannabis Bar Association, as well as cannabis industry trade associations in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  He is a board member of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, National Cannabis Bar Association and National Cannabis Industry Association.  In addition, Mr. Bachtell is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, teaching a course on legal and regulatory issues in the cannabis industry.

He was named one of Chicago’s most visionary and accomplished business leaders in the Chicago Titan 100 awards.  He is also the recipient of the Captains of the Industry Award from the American Trade Association for Cannabis Hemp.  Through his leadership of Cresco Labs, the company has been recognized as a Best-Led American Company by Inc. magazine.  Cresco Labs was also named one of the fastest growing businesses in Chicago by Crain’s and ranked the fastest growing U.S. cannabis company on Financial Times’ fourth annual list of The America’s Fastest Growing Companies.

Mr. Bachtell holds a B.S. from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from DePaul University’s College of Law.