Cannabis Movers & Shakers: Cure Pharmaceutical, Indus Holdings, Cannabics, Medical Marijuana

As another busy Tuesday unfolds, the cannabis industry witnessed some management and corporate changes in several cannabis companies. 

Benzinga decided to scroll through the list of movers and the shakers of the day:

CURE Taps Jonathan Berlent To Join Its Team

Drug delivery company Cure Pharmaceutical CURR has welcomed Jonathan Berlent to its newly formed position of Chief Business Officer.

Berlent will serve as a member of CURE's Executive Management Committee where he will supervise corporate strategy and oversee business development.

"Jonathan's extensive healthcare experience and industry insights are a welcome addition to CURE's leadership team," Cure CEO Rob Davidson said in a prepared statement.

Davidson said the Oxnard, California-based company hired Berlent to heighten the focus on "leveraging" platform technologies and help expand Cure's commercial footprint.

Berlent is an expert in pharmaceutical, life sciences and healthcare, focusing on CBD and cannabis.

He served in several companies throughout his career, including Red Team Associates, Tagleaf, and Trulee Health LLC.

In February, Cure agreed to grant Vanguard Scientific Systems the right to utilize its patented cannabis extraction methods.

Indus Promotes Jenny Montenegro To COO

Salinas, California-based Indus Holdings, Inc. INDS INDXF appointed Jenny Montenegro to be its new COO.

Prior to the promotion, Montenegro served as the company's Vice President of Commercialization.

She will supervise four departments within the company, including cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, and sales.

Montenegro honed her marketing and sales skills while serving as Founding Vice President of Consumer Packaged Goods and Operations as well as a buyer at Costco Wholesale.

"I look forward to seeing Indus and its brands continue to grow and stay on track to profitability under Jenny Montenegro's leadership," said Indus' CEO and co-founder Mark Ainsworth in a statement.

In addition, Montenegro was in charge of buying, budgeting sales, and managing inventory, in 53 locations across Northern California, handling over $1 billion in annual sales.

Medical Marijuana's Subsidiary Makes Changes To Its Sales Department

Medical Marijuana Inc. MJNA reported its subsidiary HempMeds named Vince DiMella, its U.S. director of sales and marketing.

DiMella has a background in sales and cannabis sectors, covering fields of action sports, lifestyle, and creative products as well. 

Prior to the current appointment, he worked at The House Of Marley, where he was a director of sales.

He also served as CEO of Small Axe Corp.

Some of the companies in which DiMella oversaw sales departments include Airwalk/Genetic Footwear and Duffs Footwear, to name a few.

DiMella said he is "very excited about my new role with HempMeds because the Company has a solid reputation for pioneering the industry and creating the world's first-ever, high-quality cannabidiol (CBD) products."

In March, San Diego-based Medical Marijuana disclosed its portfolio companies, including HempMeds and Kannaway, donated CBD products worth $2 million to ECHO Connection, a nonprofit organization promoting cannabis education.

Dr. Erez Scapa Joins Cannabics' Scientific Board of Advisors

Cannabinoid medicine company Cannabics Pharmaceuticals Inc. CNBX confirmed it has welcomed Dr. Erez Scapa to its Scientific Board of Advisors.

Dr. Scapa, who obtained his M.D. degree twenty years ago at the Haifa, Israel-based Technion Institute of Technology, is an expert in Gastroenterology.

Currently, he works at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel-Aviv.

He specialized in Hepatology and Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection, gaining knowledge at Harvard University, Boston, MA, and NTT Medical Center in Tokyo, Japan.

Cannabics is aimed to investigate the effects of cannabinoids in treatments of cancers of the Gastrointestinal tract.

"We are grateful to be joined by Dr. Scapa. His knowledge, expertise, and deep understanding in Gastroenterology will support the company's vision and efforts in personalizing cannabinoid-based therapies targeted at cancers of the gastrointestinal tract," stated the company's co-founder and CEO Eyal Barad in a statement.

This year, Cannabics teamed up with a Colombian company, NewCanna Hub, through a research partnership to study the anti-tumor effects of ancestral Colombian strains.