Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. announced John Hartmann will no longer serve as chief executive officer and Mark Cassebaum has been terminated as chief financial officer, effective immediately.

The Board of Directors has appointed Director Samuel Brill as chief executive officer. Brill brings extensive experience in the cannabis space and an understanding of the company's financial and strategic priorities, as well as robust capital markets knowledge. During his tenure on the Board of Directors, Brill helped guide the company through its recently announced refinancing transaction.

Brill has served on the company's Board of Directors since May 2023, when he was also appointed as lead independent director. Brill is chairman of the board of Invacare Holdings Corporation, a leader in the manufacturing and distribution of medical products. Brill served as president and chief investment officer of Seventh Avenue Investments, LLC (SAI) for the last seven years. At SAI, Brill managed all aspects of the private equity business of a multibillion-dollar single-family office in New York City. He played a critical role in helping the management teams of portfolio companies with strategic decisions, including mergers, acquisitions, corporate reorganization and financial planning. 

Before joining SAI, Brill was the chief investment officer and portfolio manager of Weismann Capital, a single-family office in Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to joining Weismann in November 2003, Brill was chief operating officer and director of Amedia Networks (formerly TTR Technologies), a publicly traded technology IP company. Prior to joining Amedia in November 2001, Brill was a senior financial analyst at JDS Capital Management, a hedge fund that was also the largest shareholder of TTR, which he joined as the first employee in February 1998. He has served on numerous public and private boards and committees, including the Investment Committee of NewLake Capital Partners, Inc.

Francis Perullo, co-founder and current director, has been appointed as president. Perullo has deep cannabis and operational expertise and will focus on driving operational excellence across all business segments. As co-founder, Perullo has led the company from inception to over a half a billion dollars in revenue over the past five years.

Perullo has previously served as EVP of corporate affairs and interim co-CEO of Ascend. Perullo spent his first three years as chief strategy officer, during which time he spearheaded the company's retail expansion strategy and built out AWH's initial footprint. Previously, Perullo served as a strategic consultant for multi-national corporations. He was founder of Novus Group and Sage Systems, provider of web-based data management software.

Roman Nemchenko, previously chief accounting officer, has been appointed as chief financial officer. In his expanded role, Nemchenko will lead the company's financial operations, with a focus on improving margins, cash flow and driving financial excellence. During his tenure as CAO, Nemchenko built out the company's accounting and financial operations, led the company through its initial public offering, numerous M&A transactions and the company's tax and U.S. Securities and Exchange compliance requirements.

With approximately 15 years of experience in finance and accounting, Nemchenko has a background in initial public offerings, financial analysis, M&A, restructurings, SEC reporting, technology implementations, tax strategy and regulatory compliance. His career includes leadership roles at Acreage Holdings, Oscar Insurance and Fortress Investment Group, as well as auditing and consulting experience at PwC. Nemchenko holds a CPA, a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting, and a master’s degree in forensic accounting.

These leadership changes are part of Ascend's commitment to enhancing its operational efficiency and financial performance.

"We are confident that this hands-on leadership team, with their diverse expertise and deep industry knowledge, will guide Ascend through this next phase of growth,” said Abner Kurtin, executive chair of the board. “The leadership changes come as part of a broader effort to realign our strategy and address recent performance challenges. We are confident that the changes will bring our focus back to the basics with an emphasis on the fundamentals and will position AWH for future success. Our focus will be on improving our operational performance and continuing to deliver high-quality products and services to our customers. The Board of Directors is committed to supporting the leadership team as they lead the company through this important transition."