What Do Cannabis And Mortgage Banking Have In Common? A Lot, According To Charlie Bachtell Of Cresco Labs

After the sweeping success of Benzinga's 4/20 Miami event, the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference is heading back to Chicago. Mark your calendars for September 13 and 14 and join us to meet a slew of marijuana industry power players who will share their experiences, visions and advice. Among them will be Charlie Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of one of the leading weed companies in the nation – Cresco Labs CRLBF.

How did an attorney with vast experience across the residential mortgage industry get into the marijuana space? 

From Mortgages To Cannabis 

Prior to co-founding Cresco Labs in 2013, Bachtell was an executive vice president and general counsel for the seventh-largest mortgage bank in the country - Guaranteed Rate. Widely respected across the mortgage industry as an authority figure with a decade of experience, Bachtell saw the industry shift from unregulated to hyper-regulated practically overnight due to an economic downturn. This transformation pushed him to another sphere – cannabis.

After realizing the marijuana industry “mirrored the industry” he was in at the time, he knew his experience would come in handy. “Cannabis, too, was an industry going from unregulated to hyperregulated overnight on a state-by-state basis because laws were state-based and siloed from each other,” Bachtell told MGO in 2021. “So, I’d done this before, and I would say most of the lessons, strategies, and experiences I developed in the mortgage banking space gave me a roadmap of exactly how we would be successful in this new industry. I applied what I learned in my previous industry here, and I’m proud of Cresco’s successes thus far.”

Bachtell is a founding member and/or member of associations across the U.S., including the National Cannabis Bar Association, Illinois Cannabis Bar Association, National Cannabis Industry Association, Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition and the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois. He is the current chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable and an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law where he teaches a course on the legal and regulatory subjects in the cannabis industry.

Come and meet extraordinary cannabis visionaries and let’s network and learn together. Join us in September at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference and stay at the historic Palmer House Hotel. Don't miss out on a chance to hear about future market forecasts and worldly advice on investing and finance from those embedded in the cannabis industry. Ready, set, go! 

Book your tickets HERE, and your room HERE.

Named one of the top 100 cannabis industry leaders by Entrepreneur magazine, Bachtell led Cresco to become one of the leading cannabis distribution platforms in the U.S  The company was recognized on several times as the largest U.S. wholesaler of branded cannabis products. In addition, Cresco operates one of the largest Social Equity and Educational Development (SEED) initiatives in the industry. SEED seeks to provide an opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge and opportunity to be part of the marijuana industry.

Columbia Care Acquisition 

In March 2022 Cresco announced one of its biggest moves - the $2.1 billion acquisition of its rival Columbia Care CCHWF. Upon the finalization of the deal, Cresco is bound to become the new leader in North American cannabis, obtaining the largest annualized Pro-forma revenue in cannabis at over $1.3 billion. Its footprint would reach 18 states, including the most important cannabis markets. Furthermore, Cresco would have a diverse retail footprint with more than 120 retail stores, which is the number 2 retail footprint of all multi-state operators.

Bachtell is optimistic about seeing marijuana legalized at the federal level, or at least seeing the enactment of the SAFE Banking Act, which would help solve one of the industry’s biggest problems. He hopes to see cannabis accessible to more people, therefore, Cresco is also on a mission of normalizing and professionalizing cannabis.

Join us in Chicago and meet the amazing Charlie Bachtell and many others at the world’s largest and most successful cannabis investing and finance event on Sept. 13-14 at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.  

Get your tickets HERE.

Photo: Courtesy of C. Bachtell's Twitter