Full Name
Leah Heise
Job Title
Partner
Company
Wolf Meyer
Speaker Bio
Leah Heise is an experienced executive, regulatory attorney and business
innovator, who specializes in the intricacies of highly regulated industries in the US and around the world. She is particularly well-known for her experience in the legal cannabis industry over the past decade, in which she was an integral part of the pioneering first wave of growth into a billion-dollar legal industry.
An accomplished C-suite veteran, Leah has served in key leadership positions at Ascend Wellness Holdings (CAO), Women Grow (CEO), 4Front Ventures (CXO/CCO) and Chesapeake Integrated Health Institute (Founder & President). She has successfully exited four companies: two through acquisition – one which created a more than a 10x return for investors – and two through IPO. At Ascend, where she served as the Chief Administrative Officer, Leah’s focus on building scalable infrastructure helped grow the company’s human resources from 73 employees to more than 1300 in less than 18 months, and from $19M in revenue in 2019 to a $1.6B market cap on IPO in May of 2021.
Leah’s breadth of expertise has made her a sought-after expert and speaker on the complicated issues facing highly regulated and/or volatile industries such as cannabis, hemp, psychedelics, intoxicating beverages, and more. Her knowledge of regulatory law established her as the very first voice in the cannabis industry to sound the alarm about the then-upcoming SCOTUS Chevron decision – more than six months before the decision was announced. She has been featured on stage at the largest industry events, including SXSW, MJBizCon, MJUnpacked, Benzinga Capital Conference, NECANN, and others to discuss complicated issues including scaling, infrastructure, mergers & acquisitions, risk profiles, compliance, retail, technology, licensing, and IPOs, and more.
In 2022, Kearney, the top-tier CPG and transformative management consulting firm, announced that it had brought Leah onto its Consumer and Retail Practice's Constellation Advisor Program, with a focus on bringing their operational expertise to cannabis. She is also the Founder & CEO of Gemini Twin Consulting, and is currently a Partner at Wolf Meyer, the visionary advisors for cannabis and other emerging markets.
As Leah explained to Montel Williams a few years ago, she was first introduced to cannabis as a patient. In the midst of enjoying a successful career as an regulatory attorney, Leah was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a debilitating illness that can be fatal. After over 35 hospitalizations and the loss of her health and the ability to work, in 2015 her doctor suggested she try cannabis to reduce the inflammation and ease the pain; the results were nothing less than life-changing. In the years since she
started using cannabis, she has only been hospitalized once with complications from pancreatitis, and her doctors remain enthusiastic about her body’s response to the plant.
Additionally, she is also a Board Director at Standard Wellness Maryland, the Chairman of the International Cannabis Quality Standards Association and advisory board member at ProCanna and Vannadium.
innovator, who specializes in the intricacies of highly regulated industries in the US and around the world. She is particularly well-known for her experience in the legal cannabis industry over the past decade, in which she was an integral part of the pioneering first wave of growth into a billion-dollar legal industry.
An accomplished C-suite veteran, Leah has served in key leadership positions at Ascend Wellness Holdings (CAO), Women Grow (CEO), 4Front Ventures (CXO/CCO) and Chesapeake Integrated Health Institute (Founder & President). She has successfully exited four companies: two through acquisition – one which created a more than a 10x return for investors – and two through IPO. At Ascend, where she served as the Chief Administrative Officer, Leah’s focus on building scalable infrastructure helped grow the company’s human resources from 73 employees to more than 1300 in less than 18 months, and from $19M in revenue in 2019 to a $1.6B market cap on IPO in May of 2021.
Leah’s breadth of expertise has made her a sought-after expert and speaker on the complicated issues facing highly regulated and/or volatile industries such as cannabis, hemp, psychedelics, intoxicating beverages, and more. Her knowledge of regulatory law established her as the very first voice in the cannabis industry to sound the alarm about the then-upcoming SCOTUS Chevron decision – more than six months before the decision was announced. She has been featured on stage at the largest industry events, including SXSW, MJBizCon, MJUnpacked, Benzinga Capital Conference, NECANN, and others to discuss complicated issues including scaling, infrastructure, mergers & acquisitions, risk profiles, compliance, retail, technology, licensing, and IPOs, and more.
In 2022, Kearney, the top-tier CPG and transformative management consulting firm, announced that it had brought Leah onto its Consumer and Retail Practice's Constellation Advisor Program, with a focus on bringing their operational expertise to cannabis. She is also the Founder & CEO of Gemini Twin Consulting, and is currently a Partner at Wolf Meyer, the visionary advisors for cannabis and other emerging markets.
As Leah explained to Montel Williams a few years ago, she was first introduced to cannabis as a patient. In the midst of enjoying a successful career as an regulatory attorney, Leah was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a debilitating illness that can be fatal. After over 35 hospitalizations and the loss of her health and the ability to work, in 2015 her doctor suggested she try cannabis to reduce the inflammation and ease the pain; the results were nothing less than life-changing. In the years since she
started using cannabis, she has only been hospitalized once with complications from pancreatitis, and her doctors remain enthusiastic about her body’s response to the plant.
Additionally, she is also a Board Director at Standard Wellness Maryland, the Chairman of the International Cannabis Quality Standards Association and advisory board member at ProCanna and Vannadium.
Speaking At
