Lantern Bolsters Board With Columbia Care VP, Verano Taps M&A Pro, And Other Key Exec Moves

Top CEOs, investors and leaders in the cannabis industry will soon convene at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on Sept. 13-14 in Chicago. In the meantime, let's scroll through the latest leadership changes within the space:

Lantern Strengthens Board Of Directors

Cannabis e-commerce marketplace and home delivery platform Lantern has appointed Ngiste Abebe to serve as the seventh member of the company's board of directors.

Abebe is an experienced executive and cannabis advocate with more than a decade of knowledge in the public policy, healthcare and cannabis spheres.

Currently, she serves in a number of key roles, including vice president of Public Policy for Columbia Care Inc. CCHWF CCHW; vice chair for the Virginia Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council and president of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association.

Abebe also volunteers as a board member for Virginia NORML.

"[Abebe] is a multi-talented speaker, panelist, advocate and leader who brings her tireless work ethic and enthusiasm to our board," Meredith Mahoney, co-founder and CEO of Lantern, said. "Her insights into cannabis reform and public policy are incredibly valuable as we continue to expand our social equity efforts."

See Also: New York Cannabis Fees Need To Be Grounded In Economic Reality, Abebe Says

Verano Welcomes M&A Expert To Board

Verano Holdings Corp. VRNO VRNOF has tapped veteran executive Lawrence Hirsh to serve on its board of directors and as chair of the audit committee, joining the company's existing four members of the board.

Hirsh brings vast experience in M&A execution and operational improvement implementation across many private and public businesses.

He spent 18 years as a managing director of Alvarez & Marsal where he co-founded the firm's Atlanta office.

Prior to this, Hirsh was a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. He is also a long-tenured corporate board member, having held more than a dozen director positions over his nearly four decades of professional experience.

"With almost 40 years of diverse corporate leadership experience across all facets of business, and as our newest director and chair of the Audit Committee, Lawrence's service will contribute to positioning Verano to meet our long-term strategic growth and operational goals," George Archos, Verano CEO and founder, said.

Hound Labs Names New COO

Hound Labs Inc., a manufacturer of cannabis breathalyzers, named Tamanna Prashar as chief operating officer.

Prashar honed her skills across high-growth and large public companies in the health technology space. Prior to Hound Labs, she served at Lucira Health as executive vice president of operations and supply chain. While at Lucira, she led the team that partnered with research and design to manufacture and scale their handheld product, a molecular solution approved for Covid-19 self-testing at home during the pandemic. 

Before joining Lucira, Prashar led supply chain and operations functions at Vyaire Medical and Cepheid, a leading molecular diagnostics company.

See Also: Charge Them 'An Arm And A Leg!' DeSantis Takes Aim At Cannabis Stocks

Prashar "possesses the perfect combination of experience and strategic vision" to commercialize the Hound Cannabis Breathalyzer, CEO Mike Lynn said.

"We will immediately benefit from Tamanna's abilities to build adaptive manufacturing and supply chain footprints that emphasize designing for manufacturability and supply as well as quality," Lynn added.

Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference

Meet a slew of cannabis execs, entrepreneurs, CEOs, investors, et al. at the September Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, Sept. 13-14 in Chicago. Get your tickets HERE and reserve your spot at the Palmer House Hotel HERE.

Benzinga photo. Source: Image from Shutterstock