Elevate Your Grind

David Hasenauer is the Chief Executive Officer of Green Point Research. David is a cannabis policy expert and real estate development professional. David was an integral part of the campaign that passed Amendment 2 by a historic margin, effectively bringing medical cannabis to Florida. Subsequently, David helped craft and pass both pieces of legislation bringing industrial hemp to the state of Florida – SB 1726 (2017) and SB 1020 (2019). In addition to his role at Green Point Research, David serves on: the Florida Hemp Advisory Committee as appointed by Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried, the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board of Broward County; and as the elected President of the Hemp Industries Association of Florida.

Sean is an experienced corporate attorney who centers his practice on advising cannabis operators, professional sports franchises, software companies and a variety of emerging and multinational businesses on corporate transactions and agreements. He also advises investors and industry participants on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and general corporate agreements. Prior to joining Fox, Sean was a partner in the Corporate Department of an Am Law 100 firm. Sean speaks on cannabis law-related topics at industry-sponsored events and seminars.

David Belsky, CEO and Founder at FlowerHire - David Belsky is a recruiting industry veteran and founder of FlowerHire, an Executive Talent Firm founded out of LA that has become a core building block of the Cannabis industry. Since its inception, FlowerHire has helped hundreds of cannabis companies build and optimize their talent chain, and have helped countless candidates understand this unique and exciting industry. David sits down for the first episode since Todd's return to kickoff another great stretch of Elevate Your Grind conversations.

I.B. ‘Brian’ Sekandi was born in Kampala, Uganda, two days before the first general election since the pre-independence elections in 1962. I.B Sekandi spent his early childhood in Uganda and Zimbabwe before immigrating to Canada. For the past decade and a half, I.B. has helped the world's largest brands in recruitment and talent acquisition strategies for North America's top talent in technology, consumer packaged goods, food & beverage, retail, media & entertainment and cannabis.

I.B. has worked in Shanghai, Dubai, Kampala, London, New York, Los Angeles, is based in Toronto, Canada, and is the Co-Founder of Careers Cannabis, a leading job search engine platform for cannabis jobs in the United States & Canada. I.B. has a big family with wonderful sisters, a beautiful niece, energetic nephews and supportive, amazing parents.

18-year cannabis veteran Jason Navarrete was born with a green thumb. Experiencing a poor and sometimes homeless upbringing, he started growing vegetables at age 8 to help his mother put food on the table. When he was 12, he began growing and selling cannabis, and learned how he could use his own “Midas touch” to turn his growing efforts into a thriving business. 

He became one of only 10 people in Lake Elsinore, California, to receive a license for cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and retail sales of cannabis. He purchased a massive property in Santa Ana to cultivate, manufacture, distribute and develop retail partnerships. This cannabis conglomerate developed a worth of more than $250 million, which Navarrete sold in early 2020. He then launched the online company Pure Craft CBD, which creates the purest CBD products on the market, in January 2021 at age 34.

Ayr is an expanding vertically integrated, U.S. multi-state cannabis operator, focused on delivering the highest quality cannabis products and customer experience throughout its footprint. Based on the belief that everything starts with the quality of the plant, the Company is focused on superior cultivation to grow superior branded cannabis products. Ayr strives to enrich consumers’ experience every day through the wellness and wonder of cannabis.

Ms. Drake is a proven business leader in both large blue chip institutions and at lean start-ups. A former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs with extensive M&A experience, Ms. Drake institutionalized the businesses of several multi-billion dollar asset management firms, ensuring compliance within complex regulatory frameworks and creating a foundation for accelerated growth.

Michael Medor started with The Coca-Cola Company as a sales associate and has since penetrated deep into the business, strategized to disrupt markets in US, Australia and Canada. With his innovative strategy for brand expansion and retention, Michael was able to lead an increase in market share and scale a start up organization.

Rosie Mattio is a strategic powerhouse, industry connector and influencer running the #1 ranked cannabis PR firm by Greenmarket Report. Based in New York City, her firm serves over 50 marquee cannabis clients, including Headset, Green Thumb Industries, Papa & Barkley, LeafLink, Greenlane and Curaleaf.

Rosie has helped usher in the New Cannabis Age. She garners global media coverage in mainstream publications for clients, including the first cannabis article ever published in Oprah Magazine. Over the past year, her firm has grown alongside the industry, adding several marketing and communications services for clients, including IR, social media marketing, SEO, event planning and influencer marketing. Rosie Mattio has been recognized with several career achievements: Marijuana Venture 40 under 40; High Times Female 50; Forbes 15 Powerful and Innovative Women in Cannabis.

Andreas brings over three decades of advertising, entertainment, and technology experience to his role as Chief Creative Director. Before joining Jushi, Dre served as Creative Director and Head of Content for Idean, a leading global design agency, and was instrumental in building out Idean’s US footprint with key clients such as IBM, HP, Rolls Royce and Ericsson. Dre is also known for his photography and has worked with people/groups like Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy Pop, Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, and Lenny Kravitz.

Tikun Olam, the worlds first licensed Medical Cannabis company, and research pioneer, entered the Florida market in March of 2019 by partnering with vertically integrated VidaCann. Tom is responsible for  the entire GTM to include packaging, state label approvals, budtender training, new product development, cultivation and processing oversight. Tom also handles all market promotions inclusive of Social Media, swag, collateral development and KOL management.

David Kessler is the Chief Science Officer at Agrify. He has 20+ years of cannabis cultivation experience including 10 years of CEA (closed environmental agriculture) indoor farm design. David’s focus on the application of technology to optimize process & workflow while reducing operational costs are a common theme throughout his prolific industry publications. David also regularly lectures at many cannabis industry events including MJBizCon Las Vegas, Cannabis Science Conference Baltimore, and Michigan’s Cannabis-Aid.