Cresco Labs (CSE:CL) (OTCQX:CRLBF), one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, announced the hiring of CPG industry veteran Ty Gent as the Company’s new Chief Operating Officer (“COO”). As COO, Gent will be responsible for operational consistency and efficiency across markets and implementation of structural enhancements to facilitate scaling.
Gent joins Cresco with more than 35 years of CPG and supply chain leadership experience. Most recently, he was the Chief Supply Chain Officer at US Foods, where he developed and implemented a new supply chain strategy, optimized its large-scale transportation network, launched field-based continuous improvement processes, and upgraded key systems technologies and planning capabilities. Previously, he worked at PepsiCo for 30 years in various executive management positions. Among Gent’s accomplishments, he led end-to-end supply chain operations for PepsiCo foods in South and Central America as the Senior Vice President of Operations. As Senior Vice President of Logistics, he steered the PepsiCo transportation network for North America and the warehouse delivery network for Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana brands divisions within PepsiCo’s North America Beverage Sector.
As a subject matter expert in supply chain optimization, S&OP planning, manufacturing, warehouse management, distribution, and quality and safety, Gent brings expertise that is directly transferrable to Cresco’s key focus of producing and distributing branded products at substantial scale.
“With the immense growth of Cresco Labs and our multi-state footprint, the scale and demands of our business have grown significantly,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs’ CEO and Co-founder. “Ty’s experience leading distribution and supply chain optimization for one of America’s largest food distributors and one of the leading CPG companies in the world will help Cresco Labs enhance its level of quality and service by driving operational execution as we significantly increase the scale of operations across our strategic multi-state footprint. He’s made a career of taking existing operations to the next level, optimizing integrated supply chains and building leaders within organizations—creating greater success at every stop along the way.”
“Cannabis is an exciting industry with tremendous growth potential, and Cresco’s focus on the middle verticals of the value chain—the production and distribution of branded products—is what drew me to the company. It is clear from my work at PepsiCo that the future of the cannabis industry, like any CPG industry, is tied to operational excellence related to branded products and wholesale distribution,” said Ty Gent. “My work at PepsiCo, where I was responsible for reducing costs and enhancing service across PepsiCo’s supply chain, is directly applicable to Cresco Labs. I’m excited to be part of the continued building of Cresco Labs’ team into one that sets the standard for operating efficiency and consistency and exceeds our patients’ and customers’ expectations for quality. We will continue to make operational execution a competitive advantage at Cresco Labs.”
Concurrent with Ty Gent’s hiring, David Ellis will move from COO to Regional President of Operations for Emerging Markets (Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland). As part of the initial Cresco Labs team, Ellis has been crucial in laying the foundation for the Company’s end-to-end operational model and leading the growth of Illinois, Pennsylvania and California. He will be responsible for repeating that successful playbook in Cresco’s emerging markets.
Charlie added, “David Ellis was employee number two at Cresco, and his entrepreneurial approach and leadership through our startup phase has been instrumental in getting Cresco Labs to where it is today. He led the expansion of cultivation and wholesale in our two largest markets and spearheaded the development and market introduction of some of our most successful branded products. I’m excited to see him dedicate his focus and experience to repeating that success in our emerging markets.”
