Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB) (“Item 9 Labs” or the “Company”), a vertically integrated, cannabis dispensary franchisor and operator that produces premium, award-winning products, today announced several strategic management hires to support its national franchise expansion. Joining the company is Tracy Timko as Director of Franchise Support, Erica Tarnowski as Franchise Development Manager, Mike Keskey II as General Counsel and Shabrina Glass as Executive Assistant.
Item 9 Labs Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Bowden, said, “With the successful opening of our first franchise dispensary last week in Boulder, Colorado under the Unity Rd. brand, we’re ready to increase our depth of bench to accelerate our national expansion.”
The recent new team members are:
- Tracy Timko, Director of Franchise Support: In a pivotal role at the heart of the business as one of the key links between the franchisor and franchise partners, Timko’s track record spans several franchise companies across Kahala Brands’ portfolio and beyond. She joins Unity Rd.’s Director of Franchise Operations, Jennifer Zarezadeh, and its Director of Education & Training, Fay Powell, in ensuring franchise partners are set up for success.
- Erica Tarnowski, Franchise Development Manager: A passionate, data-driven franchise professional, Tarnowski has six years of franchise experience across franchise development and marketing roles with Dessange Group North America and 919 Marketing. Throughout her career, she has awarded franchises across the U.S. and successfully led creative content and lead generation strategies for more than a dozen franchise development clients.
- Mike Keskey II, General Counsel: Keskey joins the Company from the highly regarded, major NYC-based law firm, Skadden Arps. There, he counseled companies on public and private mergers & acquisitions in industries including financial services, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and consumer products.
- Shabrina Glass, Executive Assistant: Glass brings more than 25 years of executive-level administrative experience working in law, non-profit and private businesses. Acting as the “glue” across the executive team, her role is essential to ensuring alignment across the company and continued movement on key initiatives.
“This group brings a tremendous amount of value to our team with real industry experience in franchising, M&A and fast-growth businesses,” Bowden added. “Filling these positions with their talent is crucial to our growth and allows us to start scaling our brands toward their full potential.”
Currently, Unity Rd. has one shop open in Boulder, Colorado and multiple agreements signed with more than 15 entrepreneurial groups that are in various stages of development nationwide. As the dispensary footprint expands nationally, the Company plans to develop or partner with cultivation facilities in states where retail shops open to bring Item 9 Labs products to the market. This eases new market product entry with a built-in distribution platform through the dispensary franchise.
Additionally, the Company noted it is currently seeking to add several management-level positions including: Director and VP-level marketing candidates to support its product and franchise brands, as well as a Controller/VP of Finance, VP of Human Resources, Franchise Development Coordinator, Field Marketing Manager, Post-Production Manager and more. Click here to view currently available positions.
