People + Passion
Our leadership team is comprised of a deep bench of experts and industry leaders that collectively bring hundreds of years of experience across cannabis, retail, agriculture, and finance and an unparalleled understanding of the sector. They have charted a course and guided 4Front from its early beginnings to the success we have today. They are passionate, committed stakeholders and aligned to drive long-term success. With some of the best minds in the industry, they have earned their reputation as efficient operators and thought leaders. As a testament to their skills, our leadership team earned 4Front Ventures a spot in Inc. Magazine’s Best-Led Companies of 2021 list.
Operational Leadership
Andrew Thut
CEO
Andrew’s journey with 4Front Ventures began as an early investor, leading to a full-time commitment in 2014 as CIO. He contributes a deep understanding of financial management and a keen business insight to the team. Before joining 4Front, Andrew held a pivotal role as the Managing Director of the BlackRock Small Cap Growth Fund at BlackRock Advisors LLC. His 11-year tenure at BlackRock was marked by significant achievements, including steering the $2 billion fund to rank within the top five percent of all domestic small cap growth funds. His expertise and leadership skills are invaluable assets to 4Front Ventures as he steps into his role as CEO.
Christopher Wimmer
General Counsel
Christopher previously served as in-house vice president of legal at Agrify Corporation, where he provided legal advice on all aspects of this publicly traded cannabis cultivation and extraction equipment company. He has 17 years of diverse experience as an attorney, and he has been in the cannabis industry for four years – two of which he has spent as in-house legal counsel – assisting in acquisitions, partnerships, wholesale purchases, IP licensing, HR matters and litigation. Also, from 2019 to 2020 Wimmer was a pro bono attorney for social equity cannabis businesses, providing free legal information to employees and customers.
Gabe Mendoza
EVP, Retail Operations
Gabriel is a lifelong Chicagoan who has worked in the cannabis industry since 2012. Gabriel began his cannabis career by serving as the company’s Operations Manager for both dispensary and cultivation center operations. In addition to his operational experience, Gabriel is the co-creator of the non-profit, Chicago NORML. Chicago NORML was founded in 2017 with the goal of educating and motivating communities of color to destigmatize and accept the cannabis plant as a vehicle for wellness, and empowerment.
Tera Martin
Chief of Staff
Tera brings 10 years of cannabis industry experience in retail operations, cultivation/processing/wholesale operations, product development, sales and marketing strategy and management, branding, project management and compliance. Her battle with breast cancer sparked her advocacy efforts in the medical marijuana industry and she was on the forefront of legalization in Washington.
Board Members
Kris Krane
Chairman
Kris has spent the last two decades working to advance the cannabis industry and movement. He has served as Associate Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (“NORML”); Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy; and is currently Chair of the National Cannabis Industry Association Board of Directors. Kris concurrently serves as Director of Cannabis Development for KCSA Strategic Communications, a leading public relations and investor relations firm, and CEO of Kranewreck Enterprises, a strategic consulting firm that helps small cannabis operators grow their businesses.
David Daily
Director
David is the CEO of Gravitron, LLC which he founded in May 2004. David has designed or led the GRAV® design team to bring over 500 unique top-line products to the cannabis market. Dave is an investor, board member, mentor, and advisor to over a dozen start-up stage brands in cannabis and consumer packaged goods. He holds a B.A. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Business as Unusual
This is a unique business with unique challenges and opportunities that have opened the door to an exceptional leadership group from diverse backgrounds. We have challenged ourselves to innovate and look beyond existing strategies, processes, assumptions, and mindsets to ensure we attract and retain some of the best and most committed minds in the business, ensuring we remain competitive, relevant and ultimately continue to elevate lives through the power of cannabis. Come back often and learn about some of our team’s personal journey with the flower.
Tera’s story
Tera’s battle with breast cancer sparked her advocacy efforts in the medical marijuana industry and led her to be on the forefront of legalization in Washington. Tera is one of the founders of the Pink Gene Foundation which strives to help young women become proactive in the fight against breast cancer by educating, providing resources and offering assistance. They are dedicated to helping women identify whether they are at high risk of breast cancer. Another special fact about Tera is that she holds the past titles of Miss Issaquah USA, Miss Greater Seattle USA and Miss Photogenic Washington USA. On her free time you can find her judging pageants and donating her time to the community.
Gabes’s story
Gabriel is the co-creator of the non-profit, Chicago NORML. Chicago NORML was founded in 2017 with the goal of educating and motivating communities of color to destigmatize and accept the cannabis plant as a vehicle for wellness, and empowerment. Gabriel is responsible for co-creating the curriculum used by Chicago NORML to train individuals on how to get a job in the cannabis industry. To date, the organization has trained over 1,000 individuals, and has helped to place over a dozen minorities into highly competitive cannabis jobs within the state of Illinois. As chair of the legislative committee Gabriel has spoken to countless state and federal politicians on the benefits of legalizing cannabis. It was the efforts of Gabriel and Chicago NORML that helped shape the Illinois cannabis law into the most socially conscious and equitable cannabis law in the United States.