CEO of Cannabis Firm Women Grow Steps Down to Focus on Dispensary

Women Grow is one of the most popular and powerful networking firms in the cannabis industry. Led by Founder Jane West and recent CEO acquisition Leah Heise, who became the CEO of Women Grow less than a year ago, have been running this female-centered networking firm for three years now and the company has become an important foundation in every major cannabis-friendly state in the country.

“I am very proud of the impact of the Women Grow team, who have encouraged thousands of women to join and lead in the legal cannabis industry as we have expanded to 44 cities across the U.S. and Canada,” West told CULTURE.

This week, the team at Women Grow announced that their CEO Leah Heise will be leaving the national cannabis event and networking company, effective immediately, to run her own medical cannabis dispensary in Maryland.

Maryland has recently passed legislation to help expand its medical cannabis industry and be more inclusive and diverse in its licensing, making it a perfect time for Heise to focus more on her Maryland-based business in the growing cannabis industry in that state.

While Women Grow searches for a new corporate leader, Chief Operating Officer Kristina Neoushoff will take over as interim CEO, according to a release from the Women Grow.

Women Grow co-founder Jane West said in the release that Women Grow “fully supports” Heise’s decision to depart and focus on her dispensary. “We see this opportunity as yet another example of women making powerful moves within this industry,” West said. “During Leah’s time with Women Grow she made incredible strides in restructuring our organization and elevating our mission to another level. We greatly appreciate her leadership and look forward to hearing more from her in the near future.”

Heise is a seasoned Maryland-based attorney, focusing on regulatory compliance in her home state. She took over as head of Women Grow in mid-2016 from former CEO Jazmin Hupp. Heise will keep an unspecified amount of equity in Women Grow as a company stakeholder, and she will continue to vote on major company decisions “regarding its organization and expenditures,” according to the Women Grow release.