David Gacom, Melissa Wagamon and Sean McAlister, who move into Regional President roles, will lead the business across the platform while strengthening the company’s geographic footprint
CHICAGO, September 17, 2020–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cresco Labs (CSE:CL) (OTCQX:CRLBF) (“Cresco” or “the Company”), one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, announced today it has expanded its leadership team with the promotions of David Gacom, Melissa Wagamon and Sean McAlister to regionally focused president positions. These dynamic individuals, who bring a depth of experience in operations, marketing and sales through previous leadership roles at top CPG companies like MillerCoors, PepsiCo and The Kraft Heinz Company, will be focused on accelerating growth across the Company’s geographic footprint. As the organization continues to scale, they will be accountable for driving the Company’s strategic agenda across its nine states, delivering top-line growth and finding new ways to drive cost synergies in regional operations. In addition, these individuals will serve as the face of Cresco Labs amongst key state and local community leaders to ensure the Company is investing in what matters most to its stakeholders.
Coming off of a record-setting second quarter of growth and seeing the massive growth potential across all of our markets, we are excited to have these exceptionally talented individuals help lead our efforts at a regional level and identify opportunities to further accelerate and diversify our growth.
Charlie Bachtell, CEO & Co-founder of Cresco Labs
In continuation of our stated organizational redesign developed to drive growth and scalable operations across the platform, we continue to enhance and strengthen our leadership team and put the right people, with the right experience, in the right roles to drive results and long-term value for our stakeholders.
“David, Melissa and Sean have the knowledge, skills and expertise to be our leaders on the ground in markets, constantly focusing on operational execution, creating efficiencies, solving the needs of our customers and launching our brands in markets the right way,” Bachtell continued.
- David Gacom has been appointed Regional President, West Region (California and Arizona). His leadership of the California market to date resulted in 41% sequential growth in Q2 and Cresco Labs taking market share in the largest, most competitive cannabis market in the world. Mr. Gacom brings more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles across B2B and B2C channels to the Company, serving most recently as the Chief Commercial & Optimization Officer of Grecian Delight Foods after 13 years in various management positions at The Kraft Heinz Company.
- Melissa Wagamon has been promoted from VP of Brand Marketing to Regional President, Great Lakes (Illinois and Michigan). Mrs. Wagamon previously managed the development of Cresco Labs’ wholesale brands, including Cresco, Remedi, Mindy’s, High Supply, Reserve and Good News. She joined Cresco Labs from MillerCoors where she oversaw the retail and recruitment strategy for the Coors Light brand and communications strategy as Director for the Miller Lite brand. She also worked in various marketing roles at The Kraft Heinz Company and PepsiCo and started her career in territory sales with Pfizer Inc.
- Sean McAlister has been promoted from EVP Sales to Regional President of Sales, Emerging Markets (Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland) and National Accounts. With the Company for over four years, Mr. McAlister has led the wholesale sales organization with a proven track record of success, getting Cresco Labs’ House of Brands into over 800 dispensaries across nine states and overseeing $55M in wholesale revenue in Q2—making Cresco Labs the largest wholesaler of branded products in the cannabis industry. Mr. McAlister previously led sales for global gaming technology producer and operator, Novomatic Americas.
These individuals were added to our leadership team based on their knowledge of the cannabis industry, their ability to bring a best-in-class CPG experience to our P&L management and proven ability to develop and lead teams.
Greg Butler, Chief Commercial Officer at Cresco Labs
Looking ahead at our industry, we see many opportunities emerging from both a wholesale and retail perspective. Having regional leaders will not only help us ensure that we create a scalable foundation from which to capture every opportunity within our markets, but also help us drive a superior capital agenda across our footprint. They all have a history of success—both in terms of building brands, developing strategic plans and providing leadership to our teams—and they are people you generally enjoy working with.
Effective immediately, Mrs. Wagamon and Mr. McAlister will be based in Illinois and Mr. Gacom will reside in California.
About Cresco Labs:
Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically-integrated multi-state cannabis operators in the U.S. Cresco is built to become the most important company in the cannabis industry by combining the most strategic geographic footprint with one of the leading distribution platforms in North America. Employing a consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”) approach to cannabis, Cresco’s house of brands is designed to meet the needs of all consumer segments and includes some of the most recognized and trusted national brands including Cresco, Remedi, High Supply, Reserve, Good News and Mindy’s Chef Led Artisanal Edibles created by James Beard Award-winning chef Mindy Segal. Sunnyside, Cresco’s national dispensary brand, is a wellness-focused retailer designed to build trust, education and convenience for both existing and new cannabis consumers. Recognizing that the cannabis industry is poised to become one of the leading job creators in the country, Cresco provides the industry’s first national comprehensive Social Equity and Educational Development (SEED) program designed to ensure that all members of society have the skills, knowledge and opportunity to work in and own businesses in the cannabis industry. Learn more about Cresco Labs at www.crescolabs.com.
