Charlie Bachtell founded Cresco Labs in 2013 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. His vision is to create the “most important company in cannabis” where employees feel empowered to serve as owners, stewards and leaders of the cannabis industry for the benefit of all cannabis stakeholders—a vision guiding Cresco Labs as an efficient growth company that is shaping cannabis into a responsible, respectable and robust industry.

Prior to founding Cresco Labs, Mr. Bachtell worked for a decade at Guaranteed Rate as its Executive Vice President and General Counsel. In this role, he guided the company as the mortgage industry transitioned from unregulated to hyperregulated, with a state-by-state regulatory framework. Through this unique experience, Mr. Bachtell is one of the leading authorities on corporate governance and complex regulatory compliance in the cannabis industry.

Currently, Mr. Bachtell is the Chairman of US Cannabis Roundtable. He is a board member of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. In addition, Mr. Bachtell is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, leading a course covering the legal and regulatory issues present in the emerging cannabis industry.

He was named one of Chicago’s most visionary and accomplished business leaders in the Chicago Titan 100 awards and a Who’s Who of Chicago Business by Crain’s. He is also the recipient of the Captains of the Industry Award from the American Trade Association for Cannabis Hemp. Through his leadership of Cresco Labs, the company has been recognized as a Best-Led American Company by Inc. magazine. Cresco Labs was also named one of the fastest growing businesses in Chicago by Crain’s and ranked the fastest growing U.S. cannabis company on Financial Times’ fourth annual list of The America’s Fastest Growing Companies.

Mr. Bachtell holds a B.S. from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from DePaul University’s College of Law.