Team

Tarek K. Tabsh, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company, has over 15 years of legal, commercial cannabis experience. In 2017, Mr. Tabsh co-founded and guided the initial vision and strategy for Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, a UK-based pharmaceutical company that develops therapies targeting the endocannabinoid system, in areas such as pain and cancer, in partnership with Oxford University. Mr. Tabsh was instrumental in raising an institutional round of investment from one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. Since 2017, Mr. Tabsh serves as a founding partner of GT Consulting, a firm based in the UK and United States that advises some of the most prominent companies in the world on how to understand the dynamic and complex cannabis industry, and how to approach forward-looking M&A strategy, in preparation for legislative reform. In 2016, Mr. Tabsh also co-founded Province Brands, a disruptive, premium beverage technology company in Ontario, Canada, and helped create the world’s first cannabis brewery, as well as a new brewing tradition with a patented technology designed to enable the world’s first beverage fermented from the cannabis/hemp plant rather than barley or grain. Mr. Tabsh worked to develop the recipes, methods, processes and intellectual property for development.

From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Tabsh founded the New Amsterdam Naturals dispensary and brand in Las Vegas, a brand that has won over 25 industry awards, including High Times’ World and U.S. and California Cannabis Cups. For all of Mr. Tabsh’s dispensary developments, he has a deep commitment to improving his community. For his efforts in revitalizing the downtown district, Mr. Tabsh was awarded a Nevada State Senate Certificate of Appreciation. His dispensary facility was also showcased in the European Union Parliament as a model for the responsible retail of medical marijuana. He developed his first medical cannabis dispensaries over ten years ago in Los Angeles and successfully collaborated with government and community stakeholders to lobby for the implementation of regulatory frameworks for cannabis commerce in Los Angeles. He has also advised licensed producers and distributors of cannabinoid medicines throughout the European Union.

Mr. Tabsh has also served on the ArcView Selection Committee from 2016 to 2017 and was responsible for evaluating and selecting the companies that meet the criteria necessary for pitching to the world’s largest network of cannabis investors; as an ArcView Shark, Mr. Tabsh was responsible for providing insightful feedback and suggestions to entrepreneurs pitching a business from the ArcView stage. For his decade of experience and commitment to founding innovative cannabis startups, Mr. Tabsh was named to the High Times’ list of the Top 100 Most Influential Figures in Cannabis in both 2018 and 2019. Mr. Tabsh completed his graduate education by crafting a multidisciplinary course framework at the Harvard Business School, the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management with an emphasis on innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

Steven Berg, Chief Financial Officer, is a business leader with over 30 years’ experience spanning investment banking to building prominent companies in the cannabis industry. He has leveraged his background in strategy, capital raising and finance to build some of the most successful brands in cannabis. Mr. Berg is passionate about creating sustainable value through innovative strategy, execution via best practices and high ethical standards for the benefit of all enterprise stakeholders. Since September 2021, Mr. Berg has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary and a member of the board of directors of Triangle 9 Real Estate, Inc. Mr. Berg’s key professional accomplishments have been achieved in executive roles at consumer products and financial companies. Mr. Berg most recently was CEO of NWT Holdings, LLC (dba Firefly Vapor), from June 2017 to December 2019, a leader in cannabis vaporization technology and consumer products. After taking the helm of the innovative startup company in 2017, Mr. Berg streamlined operations and managed new product development to position for growth. To scale the brand, he then successfully negotiated and executed the acquisition of Firefly by SLANG Worldwide as an integral component to SLANG’s IPO on the Canadian Stock Exchange. Prior to Firefly, Mr. Berg was the CFO of NWT Holdings, Inc. (dba O.penVAPE/Organa Brands, from December 2013 to June 2016), a Colorado pioneer in cannabis vaporization and oil extraction products. In addition to managing corporate finances and strategic initiatives, he drove brand expansion into multiple new state markets through recruitment of new operational partners and structuring license agreements. Prior to O.penVAPE, Mr. Berg was a founding partner of the ArcView Group’s ArcView Investor Network (May 2011 — November 2013), the cannabis industry’s first private investor network. ArcView has raised over $300 million in funding for startup entrepreneurs, venture and growth-stage companies. He conceived the network structure, engineered initial operations and recruited charter investor members that built the foundation for ArcView’s success. Before entering the legal cannabis arena, Mr. Berg worked as an investment banker for major financial firms. He served as a Managing Director in the Capital Markets Group at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, focusing on structured and derivatives transactions in corporate finance and developing multiple new funding and risk management products. He previously was with Union Bank of Switzerland and BNP Paribas in New York, where he worked in mergers and acquisitions, as well as in derivatives trading and risk management functions in the capital markets. Mr. Berg holds an M.B.A. from New York University Stern School of Business, and an undergraduate degree in Finance and Accounting from San Francisco State University.

Since 2016, David Kane has been the CEO of Morkan Enterprises, LLC, a consulting firm that provides accounting and CFO services. Mr. Kane is a certified public accountant and started his career with Arthur Anderson & Co. His career includes Walt Disney Company as a financial analyst, providing cost accounting to Disney's construction of EuroDisney. Later, Mr. Kane was a controller at Virgin Records where he led acquisitions of two hip-hop record labels. He later became CFO or the fractional CFO for several private and public companies, where he led operations, public and private capital raises, IPO's, debt restructuring, liquidation events, mergers and acquisitions, system implementations and strategic initiatives. Currently, Mr. Kane is the Director of Technical Accounting and SEC reporting with Skillz, Inc. (NASDAQ: “SKLZ”).

Mr. Kane was raised in Los Angeles, California and is an alumnus of UCLA. He now lives in Henderson, Nevada and is married and a father of two. His passions include traveling the world with his family, being active in local charities and attending local theater.

Jessica Assaf is an award-winning entrepreneur and activist dedicated to improving health and well-being through business. Her advocacy journey began at the age of 15, focusing on safe products, corporate accountability, consumer wellness and female empowerment. In high school, Assaf co-founded Teens for Safe Cosmetics, a group that successfully lobbied for the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005, requiring manufacturers to disclose harmful ingredients in personal care products. Assaf earned her undergraduate degree from New York University's Gallatin School and later received her MBA from Harvard Business School, during which she co-founded RAW IS EVERYTHING, a clean skincare company that achieved national distribution.

After moving to Los Angeles, Assaf founded Cannabis Feminist, a community supporting female leadership in the cannabis industry. In 2019, Assaf co-founded Prima, a purpose-driven CBD wellness brand and Public Benefit Corporation (B Corp) that was acquired in 2023. She is now the Director of Communications at OSEA Malibu and works with purpose-driven companies on branding, marketing, social media, retail strategy, PR and partnerships. Throughout her career, Assaf has been recognized for her contributions to health advocacy and entrepreneurship, including being named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2020.