Conference Program
2022 Highlights & Featured Sessions & Speakers
Relevant. Essential. Smart.
The CWCBExpo Conference Program Delivers Quality.
Here are some featured speakers from 2022.
With Special Remarks by Mayor Eric Adams
In this historic year of legalized cannabis in New York, hear first-hand about Mayor Adams’ support of the emerging cannabis and hemp industries.
Mayor Eric Adams has served the people of New York City as an NYPD officer, State Senator, Brooklyn Borough President, and now as the 110th Mayor of the City of New York. He gave voice to a diverse coalition of working families in all five boroughs and is leading the fight to bring back New York City’s economy, reduce inequality, improve public safety, and build a stronger, healthier city that delivers for all New Yorkers.
Your co-hosts were:
Carl Cameron
Faye Coleman
Calvin Frye
Gretchen Gailey
2022 Conference Program Highlights Included:
Press Preview, by Invitation Only
Special Preview for Media Representatives, Exhibitors, Speakers & Journalists, highlighting the innovations, speakers, exhibitors and newest products of the show.
Industry Update:
Trends & Opportunities in the Marijuana and Hemp Industries
Amanda Reiman, Vice President, Public Policy Research, of New Frontier Data, will give a cannabis and hemp industry update that includes data and analysis around consumption, purchasing habits, marketing spend, as well as demographic and social data in the USA and globally. This is a must attend session to steer your understanding of where the business opportunities are. It is a great start to the rest of the day’s investment focus.
Amanda Reiman
Keynote: In Conversation With... Chris Beals
Weedmaps has grown its brand under the tutelage of Chris Beals, CEO Weedmaps. He began his journey at Weedmaps as General Counsel. Today, Chris Beals is the leader building and overseeing a variety of partnerships that have helped to build Weedmaps’ mission – to provide technology solutions in the industry for inclusive, safe and convenient access for all consumers. Attend this much anticipated Keynote, “In Conversation With…Chris Beals,” moderated by industry journalist, Mona Zhang, States Cannabis Policy Reporter for POLITICO.
Chris Beals
Chris Beals
Chris Beals is an executive with a broad experience in operations, law, technology, SaaS businesses, and cannabis. He joined WM Technology, operator of Weedmaps, in 2015 as the company’s President and General Counsel. In early 2019, he became Chief Executive Officer.
In June 2021, Chris led WM Technology’s public offering via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company is currently trading on the Nasdaq exchange as MAPS.
Mona Zhang
Mona Zhang
Mona Zhang is the States Cannabis Policy Reporter for POLITICO. Before joining POLITICO, she founded and edited the daily cannabis newsletter Word on the Tree. She was also a freelance journalist on the cannabis beat, and her work has appeared in Forbes, The Outline, Vice, High Times, and more.
Redman
Redman
Redman is a rap star, author, actor and record producer. He has been an influence in music, culture and politics and is a Co-Founder of the National Cannabis Party. His pioneering journey and the history that he made in hip-hop music is iconic. He has built numerous collaborations over the years including Method Man & Redman. In 1999 they released Blackout! under Def Jam Records which received high acclaim and ratings on music charts such as Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Steve Bloom
Steve Bloom
Steve Bloom is a longtime journalist and author with 33 years in the cannabis community. His credits include: Publisher of CelebStoner.com, one of the leading sources for marijuana and celebrity news on the web since 2007; former editor of High Times from 1988-2007, and producer of the Stony and Doobie award shows and the two Hempilation benefit albums for NORML (1995 and 1998) while at High Times; former editor-in-Chief of Freedom Leaf magazine and freedomleaf.com from 2014-2019.
Keynote: In Conversation With... Nick Kovacevich
Nick Kovacevich and Tim Seymour will discuss the success of Greenlane Holdings, and where Kovacevich sees the opportunities for growers, dispensary owners, and the consumer market. Nick’s journey as one of the leading pioneers in cannabis, along with his success story of building KushCo Holdings and Greenlane Holdings into powerhouses, is something that must be heard first-hand.
Nick Kovacevich
Nick Kovacevich
In his role as CEO, Nick is responsible for ensuring the company executes on its mission of elevating all elements of the consumption experience. He oversees the organization’s senior management team and is integral in making critical strategic, operational, and financial decisions. Nick regularly meets with key stakeholders including customers, vendors, shareholders, analysts, investors, and media outlets.
Prior to Greenlane, Nick was the co-founder, CEO and Chairman of publicly traded KushCo Holdings, another industry pioneer, which merged with Greenlane in September 2021. Under Nick’s leadership, KushCo grew from under $2 million in annual revenue to achieving nearly $115 million in fiscal 2020, with operations in multiple states and countries, and employing over 100 team members.
Tim Seymour
Tim Seymour
Tim Seymour is Co-Host of CNBC Fast Money and is Portfolio Manager of CNBS Cannabis ETF. He is founder and Chief Investment Officer of Seymour Asset Management (SAM). SAM provides both asset management and wealth management services for its clients, including direct investment and allocation to private equity and alternative assets. Tim is also the Portfolio Manager of the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF ticker: $CNBS.
Tim has over 22 years of investment experience as a portfolio manager, allocator and capital markets professional across multiple asset classes. Tim is a recognized voice within the investment community as a trader and market strategist on CNBC. For over a decade, Tim has been a primary investor voice on CNBC’s Fast Money. Tim is often cited as one of the top finance professionals on Twitter, including The Wall Street Journal’s “Top Tweets For Your Money”.
In Conversation With... Tremaine Wright, Chair of the Cannabis Control Board
Tremaine Wright, Chair, New York State Cannabis Control Board; Gia Morón, President Women Grow, Founder and CEO, GVM Communications
Tremaine Wright
Tremaine Wright
Tremaine Wright is the Chairwoman of the New York State Cannabis Control Board and a former member of the New York State Assembly from the 56th district, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. Chair Wright is responsible for the regulatory and tax policies regarding medical and adult-use cannabis in New York State.
Gia Morón
Gia Morón
Gia Morón is the President of Women Grow, and Founder and CEO of GMV Communications. As President of Women Grow, she oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, internal and external communications, education programming, and strategic partnerships. With 25 years of experience in public relations, in 2012 Gia launched GVM Communications, Inc., a public relations, brand and business development firm.
Add-on Workshop Master Session:
Dispensaries: The Rising Green Sun
With the wave of legalization across the USA for medical cannabis and adult-use cannabis, owning a dispensary has become a desirable goal for many as it can be quite lucrative. This workshop goes through the entire real-life experience of owning a dispensary. Attendees will hear from east and west coast dispensary owners, retailers, and designers about owning and maintaining a dispensary. This Workshop Master Session will cover the following topics:
- Dispensary competition landscape
- Zen of picking the optimal location & design for retail
- Staffing a dispensary
- Financials of maintaining a dispensary
- Safety & security
- Optimizing the consumer Experience
- Future of dispensary ownership
- Q&A
This workshop is moderated by one of America’s first dispensary owners, Calvin Frye, Cannabis Pioneer and Entrepreneur.
For this Master Session, we have curated presenters and speakers who have successfully navigated building cannabis and hemp businesses. The Master Session is scheduled in the morning prior to our June 3 main conference and it ends in time for attendees to go to the remaining conference program as well as walk the show floor to network with our exhibitors.
Master Session Speakers
- The speakers have experience in traditional business industries and in the cannabis space
- Several are license holders or have advised and secured licenses for some of the most successful businesses
- Many are ancillary business services providers that serve cannabis interests (legal, accountants, advising, etc.)
- The presenters come from the East Coast and/or West Coast to further the discussion and mindshare for attendees
- Some are MSOs and soon to be dispensary owners who were recently awarded licenses and granted regional approval to operate a business
The speakers have proven relevant experience regarding:
- Dispensary ownership
- License ownership
- Risk analysis
- Legal advisory and deal closings for large-scale cannabis Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deals
- Capital raise methods
- Accounting with knowledge of 280E and who handle cannabis businesses
- Medical experience to run a dispensary
Cannabis and Lifestyle: Roundtable Discussions
Roundtable: Eco-Conscious Cannabis
How was your cannabis grown? Did it get produced, grown, harvested, extracted, packaged, stored and sold with sustainability and eco-safety in mind? Do you care and do you know about the safety standards and the supply chain of how that cannabis you bought was grown and how it was handled all the way through to sale for consumption? Attend this session and hear from those who are knowledgeable about the importance of maintaining a sustainable environment.
Roundtable: Cultivation
Discussion will cover artificial intelligence, genetics, quality control, effective and intelligent grow methods.
Roundtable: Living Your Best Life with Cannabis
Hear from supporters of a healthy lifestyle while incorporating cannabis. Topics covered will include: Daily regimens of infused products, edibles, food preparation, CBD oils; Vaping; Exercise; Q/A