Board of Directors

Ben Kovler brings his extensive experience managing complex operating companies and his deep commitment to philanthropy as Founder, CEO and Chairman of Green Thumb Industries. Ben founded GTI in 2014 and has successfully grown it into a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer that manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded cannabis products including Rythm, Dogwalkers, The Feel Collection, and Beboe, among others. The company also owns and operates a rapidly growing national chain of retail cannabis stores called Rise™. Ben is frequently featured as an industry thought leader in media outlets such as Bloomberg, Barron’s, Business Insider, CNBC and Forbes. He is also co-founder and CEO of Invest For Kids (IFK), an annual forum bringing together portfolio managers, family offices and analysts to share investment ideas to benefit children in Illinois. In its first nine years, IFK generated more than $11 million to benefit 40 youth organizations that have helped 85,000 children. Ben is also on the board of the Providence St. Mel School and the Academy for Global Citizenship. Ben earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics and economics from Pomona College and an M.B.A. in accounting and finance from The University of Chicago. Ben and his wife, Amy, enjoy living in Chicago with their two children.

Anthony Georgiadis is the Director and Chief Financial Officer of GTI. Anthony has served as a Director of the Board since 2016. Anthony is an investor and entrepreneur, having purchased a Florida-based manufacturing business in 2005 that he helped grow into one of North America's largest manufacturers of wall décor. Prior to this, he worked as a principal investing associate for CIVC Partners, a $1.5 billion private equity firm, and as an M&A analyst for Bowles Hollowell Conner &Co. Anthony became involved in the cannabis industry in 2014 after exploring cannabidiol (CBD) for treatment on his swiss mountain dog, who suffered from epilepsy. Since then he has invested in a number of cannabis-related businesses including PAX (vapor technology), Cannasure (insurance), Headset (data analytics), and Baker (customer engagement). Anthony is an avid supporter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project, and the Special Operations Warriors Foundation. Anthony graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University with a degree in finance and a minor in mathematics.

Wendy Berger has served as a Director of the Board since February 2015. Wendy brings decades of experience in strategic planning, execution, and exits for rapid growth start-ups. Ms. Berger is CEO and Founder of WBS Equities, LLC, a real estate development firm she founded in 2004, which specializes in ground up construction, renovations and sale lease back transactions of food manufacturing and food distribution facilities. In addition to a tenured career in real estate, Ms. Berger spent 10 years launching and building high tech start-ups. Wendy co-founded and was COO of Neoglyphics Media Corporation, one of the country’s first website development firms where she was integral in successfully scaling the organization before it was sold. Ms. Berger was employee number 11 at Orbitz, the travel website founded in 2000 by American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United Airlines, where she was Director of Strategic Enterprise Planning. Over the last 28 years Ms. Berger has been involved in the real estate business as a lender, property manager, broker and consultant, as well as an investor. Wendy began her career at American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago (a subsidiary of First Chicago, now JP Morgan Chase) in Commercial Lending and then several years as a principal with Berger Realty Group, an 80-year-old family owned real estate business where she focused on residential and industrial property management and development. Wendy earned her MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She received a B.S., cum laude, in Finance and Marketing from Syracuse University. Wendy is an avid triathlete, having completed 33 olympic distance triathlons and 13 half marathons. Wendy is a frequent speaker on Cannabis related real estate.

Glen Senk has served as a Director of the Board since June 2018. Glen is a creative leader who has worked with several of the world’s most iconic brands, beginning with Bloomingdale’s in 1981, where in just seven years he rose to senior vice president and managing director of Bloomingdale’s by Mail. In 1989, Glen became chief executive of the London-based Habitat International Merchandise and Marketing Group. Returning to the States in 1992, Glen joined Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) as senior vice president and general merchandise manager where he supervised Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Hold Everything, Chambers and Gardener’s Eden and most notably set the strategy and groundwork for Pottery Barn’s rapid expansion and sales growth. In 1994, Glen joined Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) as president of Anthropologie, which was then a single-store prototype. During the course of growing Anthropologie into a billion-dollar brand, Glen was named executive vice president of URBN in 2002, elected to the company’s board of directors in 2004, and named CEO of URBN in 2007. Glen also served as CEO for America’s leading fine jewelry brand David Yurman from February 2012 to February 2014, and founded Front Row Partners in April 2014, where he currently serves as Chairman and CEO. Glen currently serves on the board of directors of Aritzia (TSE: ATZ), Boden, Kendra Scott and Opening Ceremony and has previously served on the boards of directors of Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN), Bare Escentuals (NASDAQ: BARE), Melissa & Doug, Tory Burch, David Yurman, and Cooking.com. Glen holds a BA degree, magna cum laude, in psychology, computer science and mathematics from New York University and an MBA degree in marketing and finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi.

Wes Moore has served as a Director of the Board and Social Impact Subject Matter Expert for GTI since July 2018. Wes brings a lifetime’s commitment to social impact and entrepreneurship to GTI. He is a bestselling author, decorated army combat veteran, and Chief Executive Officer at Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. Wes previously served on Robin Hood’s Veteran’s Advisory Board, which brought together leaders from the military, non-profits and government to connect veterans and their families living in poverty to housing, job training, education, counseling and health services. Before becoming CEO at Robin Hood, Wes was the founder and CEO at BridgeEdU, an innovative platform addressing the college completion and job placement crisis. Wes also hosts Oprah Winfrey Network’s "Beyond Belief" and PBS’s "American Graduate Day" and is the Executive Producer and host of PBS’s "Coming Back with Wes Moore", focusing on the reintegration of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Wes is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of "The Other Wes Moore" and "The Work", which capture the fine line between success and failure in our communities. Wes graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. While at Johns Hopkins, Wes founded STAND!, working with Baltimore youth involved in the criminal justice system. Wes earned a MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. He then served as a Captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. Later, Wes served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Wes has also served on the boards of Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America and Johns Hopkins University.

William Gruver spent 20 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., the international investment banking firm. In the wake of the 1987 stock market crash, he was named Chief Administrative Officer of the firm's largest division – the equities division – which, under his leadership, reorganized and redeployed its people and capital to become one of the firm's most profitable areas. Prior to his tenure with Goldman Sachs, he served as a qualified officer of the deck in the nuclear submarine force of the United States Navy where he was awarded several decorations. Gruver currently serves on two additional audit committees – Geisinger Health, a $7 billion integrated health care system in Pa. and N.J., where he chairs the Audit Committee, and Private Client Bank, a multi-billion dollar Swiss institution. He was a member of the Audit Committee and served as chair of the Compensation Committee for TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: TST), a leading financial news and information company, where he was a director from October 2003 to June 2013. He served as Audit Committee Chair for Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, from 1996 to 2008. He is also a national arbitrator of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Gruver now holds the Howard I. Scott Chair in Global Commerce, Strategy and Leadership at Bucknell University. He has received the Lindback Award for distinguished teaching and the ECAC Award for his contributions to inter-collegiate athletics at Bucknell. His thinking and writing has been widely published in outlets such as the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the New Republic, Finanz und Wirtschaft, Public Radio International, as well as several academic journals. Gruver received his AB with distinction from Dartmouth College and his MBA from Columbia University.

Alex Yemenidjian has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Armenco Holdings, LLC, a private investment company, since January 2005, and co-founded Integral Associates, which was acquired by GTI. Mr. Yemenidjian served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Inc. from July 2009 to September 2015. He also served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of MetroGoldwyn-Mayer Inc. from April 1999 to April 2005 and was a director from November 1997 to April 2005. Mr. Yemenidjian was director of MGM Resorts International, Inc. (“MGM”) (formerly MGM Grand, Inc. and MGM Mirage Resorts, Inc.) from 1989 to 2005 and was its president from 1995 to 1999. He also served MGM in other capacities, including as Chief Operating Officer from 1995 until 1999 and as Chief Financial Officer from 1994 to 1998. He served as an executive of Tracinda Corporation, the majority owner of both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and MGM, from 1990 to 1997 and again during 1999. Mr. Yemenidjian is a trustee of mutual funds Baron Investment Funds Trust and Baron Select Funds, is lead director and chairman of the compensation committee of Guess?, Inc., a worldwide retailer of contemporary apparel, and until March 2018, when it was sold, was a director and chairman of the audit committee of Regal Entertainment Group, a motion picture exhibition company. As part of his civic and charitable activities, Mr. Yemenidjian serves on the board of USC Marshall School of Business Board of Leaders, was Co-Chair of Imagine the Arts Campaign of California State University, Northridge, served as Director of the Lincy Foundation, served as Trustee of the American Film Institute, and served as Chairman of the United Armenian Fund. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Accounting from California State University, Northridge, a Master’s degree in Business Taxation from the University of Southern California, and was Adjunct Professor of Taxation at the University of Southern California Graduate School of Business.