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Draft:Adam Bierman

  • Comment: Some paragraphs have misleading citations. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ca (talk • contribs) 5:26 am, 13 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Please add a source to verify claims like date of birth. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 23:00, 6 November 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Numerous unsourced statements and sections. Greenman (talk) 10:18, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
Adam Bierman
NationalityAmerican
Education
Known forformer CEO, MedMen

Adam Bierman is an American businessman and entrepreneur.[1][2] He is best known for co-founding the cannabis retailer MedMen The Apple Store of Weed[3][4] with partner Andrew Modlin, where he was CEO from 2010 until 2020.[5][6]

Early life and education edit

Bierman was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. He attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts for one year, then Los Angeles City College in order to pursue baseball more seriously. He transferred to USC,[7] dropping out shortly after the transfer went through to pursue his career building his sports agency.[8][9]

Career edit

MedMen edit

In 2010, Bierman and Modlin had been running a branding, consulting, and construction firm in California when a dispensary owner, they call her the “blue-haired lady”, who was generating $300,000 a month and was looking for advice on how to double that.[10][11]

In September 2012, the ModMan name was changed to MedMen and the DBA was filed.[12] Bierman’s exclusive trade became legal marijuana.[13][14][15] The licensing applications for medical dispensaries in Massachusetts opened in 2013[16] and Bierman briefly did some consulting into the application process.[17] After realizing how the business model was moving forward in the cannabis industry, MedMen made the switch from consultancy to a management firm.[18][19][20] He also penned opinion articles on the cannabis industry for multiple outlets.[21][22][23][2]

Over the next decade, Bierman grew MedMen to five states,[24] with a total of 33 retail stores,[25] and over 1,500 employees. It also became a publicly traded company[26] with a $1.65 billion market cap.[27] In January 2020, Bierman agreed to step down from his role as CEO of MedMen to assume a more strategic board position.[28][29][30]

PharmaCann Acquisition edit

In late 2018, MedMen signed a deal to acquire PharmaCann for $682 million, the largest acquisition in U.S. cannabis history.[31] Bill Barr and the Department of Justice opposed the deal and due to the dirty politics[32], the merger was terminated in October 2019.[33]

Venture Funding and Capital Raises edit

Bierman was able to secure millions in venture funding for MedMen. In April 2016, Cap-Meridian Ventures invested $15 million.[34] Two months later, Bierman launched Opportunity Fund I, which raised $60 million in 9 months.[35] The following year, Opportunity Fund II launched, securing $75 million in 6 months.[36]

Bierman continued to pursue investments into MedMen in 2018. In October, Bierman secured a loan for $94 million,[37] one of the first true senior secured loans in cannabis. A few days later, the loan increased to $100 million.[38]

In March 2019, Bierman helped MedMen secure a $250 million investment deal with Gotham Green Partners,[39] which raised an additional $30 million in July.[40] In December, Wicklow Partner also invested an additional $27 million.[41]

Legal issues edit

Bierman was the target of several allegations, ranging from mismanagement of money to personal biases. Most of these allegations arose out of a lawsuit in 2019 from former MedMen CFO Parker,[42] of which the jury found no proof, and ruled in favor of MedMen and Bierman.[43] In regards to this lawsuit, Bierman stated, “He clearly threw anything he could fabricate against the wall to see if it would stick. The problem is, as the jury found, none of it was true."[44]

In January 2019, Bierman and Modlin were subjects of a lawsuit from a shareholder entity in MedMen, claiming breach of fiduciary duty.[45] The lawsuit was dismissed in June of the same year.[46]

In 2022, Bierman was awarded a $3 million total in his lawsuit against MedMen for wrongful termination.[47]

References edit

  1. ^ "MedMen Cannabis Dispensaries and Delivery Service". medmen.com. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  2. ^ a b Fuller, Thomas (October 24, 2016). "Election May Be a Turning Point for Legal Marijuana". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  3. ^ Black, Lester. "California's 'Apple Store of weed' is close to collapsing". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  4. ^ Gurdus, Lizzy (2018-10-15). "'Retail is the place to be' in cannabis, says MedMen CEO after 'blockbuster' PharmaCann acquisition". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  5. ^ Wallace, Alicia (2020-01-31). "CEO of cannabis retailer MedMen steps down | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  6. ^ Rodrick, Stephen (2019-04-16). "Rise of Big Weed: MedMen's Growing Pains". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  7. ^ "Debra Borchardt, Green Market Report Interviews Medmen's Adam Bierman". Cannabis Law Report. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  8. ^ Schreckinger, Ben; Zhang, Mona (24 May 2020). "Lavish Parties, Greedy Pols and Panic Rooms: How the 'Apple of Pot' Collapsed". Politico. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Adam Bierman from Red Workshop - Cannabis Talk 101 (podcast)". Listen Notes. 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  10. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn. "Pot Is Golden in California". US News.
  11. ^ "Is this the future of buying weed in New York?". The FADER. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  12. ^ "MMMG LLC". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  13. ^ Perry, Kevin EG; Perry, Kevin E. G. (2018-04-18). "I Went on a Tour of America's Biggest Legal Weed Factory". Vice. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  14. ^ "The Business of Pot". TIME. 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  15. ^ Adams, Rosalind (2023-09-11). "Big Weed Is on the Brink of a Multi-Million Dollar Surge into New York's Cannabis Market". THE CITY - NYC News. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  16. ^ "1st Medical Marijuana Applications Due In Mass". WBUR. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  17. ^ Garman, Valerie. "Consultant calls Florida 'perfect storm' for marijuana business". Panama City News Herald. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  18. ^ DiMartino, Mediha (2022-02-14). "MedMen Launches Concierge Service to Grow Retail Operations". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  19. ^ Laporte, Nicole (March 15, 2018). "It's Happening: Will MedMen Become The Starbucks Of Weed?". Fast Company.
  20. ^ Wallace, Alicia (2020-01-28). "One of the biggest names in cannabis is falling behind in paying vendors | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  21. ^ Healy, Beth. "You can't own more than 3 pot shops, but these companies test the limits — and brag about it - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  22. ^ "Marijuana Entrepreneur: When a Market Doesn't Exist, Create Your Own". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  23. ^ Rufus Koren, James (2018-05-25). "Must Reads: L.A. pot retailer MedMen has 12 shops, a $1.6-billion valuation and, coming soon, Canadian stock". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  24. ^ Waters, TaMaryn. "MedMen Enterprises medical marijuana dispensary opens in Midtown". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  25. ^ Mathis, Katie Brune (28 May 2019). "MedMen plans locations in Five Points, Jacksonville Beach". Jacksonville Daily Record. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  26. ^ Bartholomew, Dana (2018-05-29). "Culver City-Based Medmen Enterprises Goes Public on Canadian Exchange". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  27. ^ Grant, Kinsey (2018-05-30). "The Largest U.S. Cannabis Company Finds a Home on a Canadian Exchange". TheStreet. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  28. ^ Wallace, Alicia (2020-01-31). "CEO of cannabis retailer MedMen steps down | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  29. ^ "MedMen's Adam Bierman Surrenders Voting Control and Steps Down as CEO". New Cannabis Ventures. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  30. ^ Berke, Jeremy. "The CEO of embattled cannabis company MedMen is stepping down on February 1". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  31. ^ Berke, Jeremy. "High-end marijuana retailer MedMen just spent $682 million on the largest US cannabis acquisition in history". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  32. ^ "Attorney General Barr ordered cannabis merger investigation over staff objections, US DOJ whistleblower says". Mlex Market Insight. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  33. ^ Amore, Samson (8 October 2019). "MedMen Terminates PharmaCann Purchase, CFO". LA Business Journal.
  34. ^ Staff, MJ Biz Daily. "MedMen Inks $15M in Financing for California Expansion". MJ Biz Daily. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  35. ^ Chen, I-Chun. "Medmen Raises Additional $60 Million for Legal Marijuana Investment Fund". L.A. Business First. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  36. ^ Kaufman, Karl. "How To Build A Marijuana Unicorn: An Interview With MedMen Spokesman Daniel Yi". Forbes. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  37. ^ "MedMen Raises $94 Million with Senior Secured Term Loan at 7.5%". New Cannabis Ventures. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  38. ^ Kelleher, Ellen (4 October 2018). "Cannabis company MedMen Enterprises closes additional tranche on term loan facility". ProActive. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  39. ^ Staff, TRD (11 July 2019). "MedMen, the "Apple Store of Weed," gets $30M for pot retail push". The Real Deal. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  40. ^ Kilgore, Tomi. "Medmen receives additional $30 million equity investment led by Gotham Green Partners". Marketwatch. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  41. ^ Amore, Samson. "MedMen Restructuring Brings $37 Million in Savings". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  42. ^ Peltz, James F (24 February 2019). "Fast-growing pot seller MedMen faces lawsuit by former insider". LA Times. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  43. ^ Borchardt, Debra (23 November 2021). "MedMen Wins Case Against Former CFO James Parker". Green Market Report. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  44. ^ Schroyer, John. "Marijuana MSO MedMen prevails in trial against former CFO". MJBiz Daily. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  45. ^ Staff. "Marijuana firm MedMen, top execs face $20 million suit for allegedly breaching duties, enriching selves". MJBiz Daily. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  46. ^ "Litigious Investors Dismiss Faulty Court Action Against MedMen". Bloomberg. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  47. ^ Gelsi, Steve. "Cannabis exec Adam Bierman wins MedMen arbitration settlement and eyes pot biz again". Marketwatch. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
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