Cresco Labs announced additional actions in board refreshment and corporate governance to further strengthen its leadership in the cannabis industry.
Cresco has appointed Carol Vallone to its board of directors, effective immediately. Vallone is a well-known business leader, former CEO and corporate board director, with a strong track record in launching, scaling and managing global companies.
Currently, Vallone serves as chair of the board of trustees at McLean Hospital, the top-ranked freestanding psychiatric hospital and largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School. She also serves on the board of trustees at MGH Institute of Health Professions, and on the finance committee at Mass General Brigham. Additionally, Vallone serves on the board of directors of the Bain Capital Double Impact portfolio company, Arosa; as an advisory director for the private investment firm Berkshire Partners and as an advisory board member of the healthcare-focused venture growth firm, Longitude Capital.
In the past, Vallone served as president and CEO of leading e-learning companies including WebCT Inc., where she grew the online learning company to cover almost two thousand institutions in seventy countries. She has also served on multiple boards at leading non-profit healthcare, public financial services, and e-commerce organizations.
In joining the Cresco Labs board of directors, Vallone will become the second female member of the board and will serve alongside Michele Roberts, the executive director of the NBA Players Association, who was elected in April.
The company today announced that Brian McCormack, vice chairman of the board, has retired from the company’s board of directors as part of the planned board refreshment process. A serial entrepreneur, McCormack was a founder and one of the early investors in the company and led the initial development of the board. He was instrumental in helping create the business and in recruiting initial shareholders to the company.
“Cresco Labs was the crowning achievement of my entrepreneurial endeavors,” said McCormick. “I feel very fortunate to have met my founding partners and to have built the foundation for a company that has created a cultural shift in the way our country now views cannabis. As the company prepares for the future, I am excited to see Michele Roberts and Carol Vallone join the board in order to help guide our executive team and propel Cresco to the next level.”
“Brian has served on the Cresco board since the company was founded and has played an integral role in the company’s early development,” said Charles Bachtell, CEO and cofounder of Cresco Labs. “I would like to thank him for his foresight in recommending that we implement a board refreshment plan to ensure we have a diverse set of experiences, skills and ideas to help guide Cresco into the future.”
Tom Manning, Cresco Labs’ executive chairman, added, “I also want to recognize Brian for his early contributions and his vision. While we will miss him, I’m thrilled to welcome a powerful new voice, Carol Vallone, to the board. Carol has proven her ability to launch and scale global companies both as an executive and a board member, and her experience and passion for corporate governance are a tremendous fit for Cresco in its next phase of growth.”
