Chicago-based Cresco Labs has promoted Melissa Wagamon and Sean McAlister to regionally focused president positions. They will be focused on accelerating growth across the company’s geographic footprint. The vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator also promoted David Gacom in California.
“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,” said Charlie Bachtell, CEO and 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.”
Wagamon has been promoted from vice president of brand marketing to regional president, Great Lakes (Illinois and Michigan). She previously managed the development of Cresco Labs’ wholesale brands, including Cresco, Remedi, Mindy’s, High Supply, Reserve and Good News. Wagamon 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.
McAlister has been promoted from executive vice president of 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, 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 $55 million in wholesale revenue in Q2—making Cresco Labs the largest wholesaler of branded products in the cannabis industry. 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,” said 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.”
