Ascend Wellness Holdings Terminates Both CEO And CFO, Replaces Management

Ascend Wellness Holdings AAWH announced it has terminated both its chief executive officer and chief financial officer.

Effective immediately, the company has terminated John Hartmann as CEO and Mark Cassebaum as CFO and appointed Samuel Brill, a board member as the new CEO.

Brill has been instrumental in guiding Ascend Wellness through its recent refinancing efforts. He is expected to bring a strong focus on financial and strategic priorities to his new role.

Francis Perullo, co-founder of the company and current board director, who previously served as interim Co-CEO and president has been named president again.

Perullo played a crucial role in the company's growth, helping it achieve over $500 million in revenue in the past five years. His new role will focus on driving operational guidance across all segments of the business.

Roman Nemchenko, previously the company's chief accounting officer, has been promoted to CFO. Nemchenko lead Ascend Wellness Holdings through its initial public offering and various M&A activities. This background serves him well to enhance the company's margins and cash flow.

Read Also: Ascend Wellness Reports 5th Consecutive Quarter Of Positive Cash Flow While Net Debt Remains Around $238M

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The Official Statement

"These leadership changes come as part of a broader effort to realign our strategy and address recent performance challenges. We are confident that the changes will bring our focus back to the basics with an emphasis on the fundamentals and will position AWH for future success," said Abner Kurtin, executive chair of the board of directors.

Recently, Ascend Wellness reported Q2 2024 revenue of $141.54 million, a 15% year-over-year increase. But also a net loss of $21.78 million. At that time, now former CFO Cassebaum said, "Although we delivered solid growth compared to last year, our performance this quarter did not meet our expectations.”

• Read Next: Ascend Wellness Cannabis Co. Closes $235M Private Placement Of Senior Secured Notes, Refinances Existing Term Loan

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