B2B Cannabis Platform LeafLink Taps Former WeWork Co-CEO For Leadership Team

LeafLink, the national wholesale marketplace for the cannabis sector, has expanded its leadership team with a pivotal hire: Tech executive Artie Minson is joining the company as president and chief operating officer. He will also be added to LeafLink’s board of directors.

In his new role, Minson will be responsible for managing operations, sales, marketing, customer service and corporate functions to support the company’s scaling technology services. Minson will report to LeafLink’s co-founder and CEO Ryan G. Smith.

Minson has a distinguished and impressive background that encompasses a wide variety of mainstream tech leadership positions. Prior to joining LeafLink, Minson founded 715 Capital Partners, which provides early-stage capital and advice on strategy and operations to technology-enabled subscription businesses. Other notable past roles include serving as co-CEO, president, chief operating officer and CFO of WeWork, CFO of Time Warner Cable, and COO and CFO of AOL.

Minson has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Georgetown University.

As more states continue to legalize, Minson is excited about joining LeafLink at an inflection point in both the history of the company and the industry.

“As states across the country embrace the health, economic and social gains associated with the normalization of medical and recreational cannabis, it is imperative that the cannabis ecosystem is supported by best-in-class technology products such as LeafLink,” he said…“With over 40% market share and a unified technology platform that empowers operators to specialize and scale, LeafLink has helped bring the cannabis industry into the digital age, revolutionizing the way brands, distributors and retailers manage their operations.”

Founded in 2015, LeafLink has become a prominent player in its space, attracting significant venture capital funding. In December 2020, the firm raised $40 million in Series C funding led by top Silicon Valley venture capital firm Founders Fund. On Minson’s appointment at LeafLink, Matias Van Thienen, a partner at Founders Fund, expressed his wholehearted support.

“Ryan and the team at LeafLink have built the industry’s leading B2B technology platform with approximately $5 billion in transaction volume in 2021,” he said in a public statement. “Attracting seasoned leaders like Artie is critical to the long-term success of the legal cannabis industry given the complex regulatory environment and expected growth.”

In addition to Founders Fund, LeafLink’s other backers include Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital and Lerer Hippeau. LeafLink has raised more than $131 million of equity to date as well as a $250 million credit facility to provide liquidity to the cannabis supply chain, according to the news release on Minson’s appointment.

The hire of Minson comes at a watershed moment for LeafLink. According to the firm, the marketplace processed about $5 billion in annual orders in 2021, making up an estimated 40% of U.S. wholesale cannabis commerce. Currently, LeafLink serves 30 markets across the U.S. and Canada with a team of 300 plus staffers in New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Toronto.