Arcview is led by some of the most respected names in the cannabis industry.
Troy Dayton
CEO
Troy is an elected board member for the Marijuana Policy Project and was formerly their top fundraiser and lead liaison to the legal cannabis industry. He is a founding board member of the National Cannabis Industry Association and co-founder of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, which is now on over 200 campuses. Troy also helped launch and served as the first sales director at Renewable Choice Energy, which was recently named the #1 green power provider by the EPA. He was recently named by Fortune Magazine as one of the top 7 most powerful people in the cannabis industry. In his spare time, Troy enjoys karaoke and the Burning Man festival.
Steve DeAngelo
President
Steve DeAngelo has spent his entire career at the intersection of cannabis activism and entrepreneurship. As CEO of Harborside Health Center, Steve co-founded and directed California’s most widely acclaimed medical cannabis dispensary–and set a new standard of excellence for the entire industry. Steve also launched the industry’s first lab testing service, Steep Hill Labs. Steve spent the decade of the 1990′s leading Ecolution, Inc., a pioneering producer of industrial hemp goods that sold to retail stores in all 50 states and 21 countries. Steve played an instrumental role in the passage of Proposition 59, Washington DC’s medical cannabis initiative; co-producing Hempilation I and II CDs with Capricorn Records; and organizing the world famous 4th of July demonstrations at the White House. He was the the star of the Discovery Channel’s reality show Weed Wars.
Jeanne M. Sullivan
General Partner
Jeanne Sullivan is passionate about delivering ideas – connections – and inspiration to entrepreneurs and is a fierce advocate for legalization and regulation of the Cannabis industry. Jeanne is a co-founder of StarVest Partners, a venture capital firm in NYC and long- time tech investor, now a special advisor to her firm. Prior to her investing experience, Jeanne served in operating roles at AT&T and Bell Labs as part of an entrepreneurial team building innovative products in image processing and high end computing.
Ms. Sullivan is a sought-after industry speaker on the subject of “how to get the wallet out of investors’ pocket” and is an active advisor and investor in the sector and a proud member of the Arcview community.
Jeanne is a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School and is an Athena Entrepreneur Fellow for Barnard College. She is on the Global Board of Trustees of Astia, an organization that funds high-growth women entrepreneurs.
Forbes cited Sullivan as “one of the women VCs changing the world – grooming the next generation of female entrepreneurs”. The New York Angels organization honored Jeanne as the OPEL award winner – Outstanding Professionals for Entrepreneurial Leadership. The New York Hall of Science honored Jeanne for her work inspiring girls and women in science, technology (STEM) sectors. Jeanne also serves on the Board of Trustees of the New York Hall of Science – a museum that introduces people of all ages to STEM learning with hands-on exhibitions.
Jeanne has a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law.
Brian Sheng
General Partner
Dean Kisieu
Chief Financial Officer
Dean Kisieu brings over 20 years of leadership in finance, strategy and operations in a variety of industries, including technology, media and professional services. He has been in leadership positions in organizations ranging from start-ups, to hyper growth, to hundreds of employees and revenues in the hundreds of millions. He has been instrumental in raising tens of millions of dollars in equity and debt, as well as a multitude of acquisitions and joint ventures. He was also an entrepreneur who sold one of the businesses he founded, and a founding executive of a social venture incubator. His experience spans North America and Europe and his education includes an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Stanford University.
David Abernathy
Vice President - Data & Government Affairs
David Abernathy started his career doing project administration and management for a London-based engineering and consulting firm. From there he transitioned to an Australian investment bank where he worked with the Infrastructure Legal team financing multi-billion dollar wind farm projects. He spent several years doing investment due diligence, business development, and business administration consulting.
From 2009-2012, he ran a financial services and consulting firm for the medical cannabis industry whose clients included cultivation collectives, dispensaries, equipment manufacturers, and cannabis R&D companies around the State of California. Mr. Abernathy worked as an adviser to UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy on a report for the City of Oakland about the economic impact of regulated, large-scale, indoor cannabis cultivations.
In addition to his work with The Arcview Group, David currently teaches the Economics of Cannabis at Oaksterdam University, co-owns a miniature golf company and helps run a cat rescue non-profit that opened America’s first cat cafe in 2014.
Elyse Bernstein
Director of Events
Elyse Bernstein moved to the Bay Area after studying at Boston University and then UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School. She earned her BA and Master’s degrees in Environmental Policy and Analysis, and Eco-Entrepreneurship before heading to Northern California to explore opportunities in the start up world.
Elyse currently serves as the Director of Arcview’s Events Department where she orchestrates quarterly large scale international Investor Forums. She’s one of Arcview’s longest standing team members, creating the events department from ground zero.
Jeff Dayton
Director of Sponsorships
Jeff primarily works with accredited investors who are considering joining the Arcview Investor Network.
Prior to Arcview, Jeff worked in sales for the logistics industry where he produced more than $54M in sales during his 8 years with the company.
Jeff has been a strong proponent of legalizing cannabis for his entire adult life as a donor to the Marijuana Policy Project and Students for Sensible Drug Policy. In 2004 Jeff managed a team of signature gathers in MPP’s effort to legalize marijuana in Nevada. He looks forward to the day when not a single adult is punished for consuming cannabis.
When Jeff isn’t helping accredited investors find their way in the cannabis industry he manages J&S Property Managers LLC, a company that owns and manages several condominiums in Chicago, IL. He also enjoys the craft beer industry and is an investor in Empirical Brewery, a fast-growing Chicago Brewery. Most recently, Jeff became a partner in Red Headed Honey, a creator of natural skin care products.
John Downs
Director of Business Development
John R. Downs is Director of Business Development for The Arcview Group, focusing on corporate strategy and development of Arcview’s financial services and asset management businesses. During his nearly 20 years in finance and entrepreneurship, he has experienced the telecom, dotcom, housing, and commodity bubbles, giving him a unique perspective on markets and investing.
Prior to joining the cannabis industry in 2015, John was a Registered Investment Advisor for a boutique wealth management firm, advising on over $130M for high net worth clients, and participating in dozens of corporate finance transactions for small-cap, high-growth companies. In 2006, he founded and operated a multi-state wholesale mortgage lender, funding over $300M in loans in 18 months of operation. A passion for non-market correlated assets led to structuring an independent film fund focused on senior secured debt (tax credits), resulting in the acquisition and restructuring of a leading Hollywood entertainment market research firm in 2014.
Joining the cannabis industry in January 2015, John became the first employee and Managing Director of Marijuana International Company (MJIC), where he co-developed the company’s corporate strategy and business plan, raised capital for operations and investments, and participated in MJIC’s investment committee. Leaving MJIC in May 2016, John co-founded a bay area contract manufacturer of cannabis infused products, developing several cannabis-infused product brands through launch to market.
John was voted a “Top 3” mentor by the first cohort of cannabis business accelerator, Gateway, has sat on the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) Legislative and Manufacturing sub-committees, and was a founding board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA). He graduated from UC Davis with degrees in History and Political Science, where he was an all-conference student-athlete. He lives in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles, where he enjoys hot yoga, reading, sailing, and advocating for free markets and free minds.
Louis Han
Director of Deal Flow
Mr. Han is primarily responsible for developing deal flow for The Arcview Group’s investor network. He gained his investment experience from working with high net-worth foreign nationals in private equity and debt financings in commercial real estate transactions.
The cannabis industry became his passion after founding, operating and exiting a tax-paying medical cannabis collective that reached over 300 patients in the San Francisco Bay Area in just 1 year.
A long-time advocate for local and international communities in need, Mr. Han had the privilege of arguing a deportation case pro bono in front of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, receiving multiple awards for pro bono service within the Silicon Valley community, teaching ESL to underprivileged youth in South Korea, and community leadership with Rotary International.
He received his law degree from Santa Clara University with a focus on corporate law and immigration. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Davis.
Deborah Johnson
Investor Engagement & Breeze Investment Team
Ms. Deborah Johnson represents The Arcview Group to investors and entrepreneurs who offer the best private equity cannabis investment opportunities in the world.
She joined Arcview in 2017 and is responsible for investor relations as well as serving as Director of the Breeze Investment Team managing ~$5M AUM in several ancillary companies including Wurk, BDS Analytics, Pathogen DX, Growcentia, Mirth and Springbig. Upon arrival at Arcview, she helped to found the Arcview Women’s Investor Network (A-WIN) in order to foster a supportive environment for women to engage as funders, founders and C-Suite / Board seat occupiers.
Since 2011 Ms. Johnson has been engaged in early stage angel investment and the startup entrepreneurial ecosystem. She previously led various angel groups including the Gulf Coast Venture Forum in Naples / Sarasota and Keiretsu Forum in Miami and well as special event coordination for the Tamiami Angel Funds and the Enterprise Development Corporation. She also managed an entrepreneurial mentoring program at Fusion Pointe where she facilitated over 40 mentors and 16 companies.
Living in the tropical paradise of Naples, FL, Deborah enjoys triathlons, half marathons, golf, snorkeling, cooking vegetarian meals and traveling.
Taylor Page
Member Relations
Taylor Page works as a Member Relations and Client Retention Specialist at the Arcview Group helping to boost revenue for the firm while maintaining close relationships with members, to ensure they can achieve the most out of their Arcview membership.
With 11 years of experience in sales and leadership working during deregulation in the Texas energy market as a Regional Director and Director of Operations for various hospitality establishments in Texas and California, Taylor represents a valuable member of any team. He also is partnered with a non-profit organization, where he has successfully managed to raise capital and help give back to participating public schools in the Dallas Metroplex area through fundraising.
Taylor is a proud father of a two year old son. As a Texas native, he enjoys spending time in the great outdoors fishing and hunting.
Erica Moore
Office and Events Administrator
Ben York
Associate
Ben York works as an Associate for the Member Relations team at Arcview. Before joining Arcview, Ben was an Investor at Venture University, a multi-stage investment fund and an accelerator to enter venture capital. While at Venture University, Ben invested in six startups over the course of the three month program in the FinTech, Healthcare, Consumer, Enterprise, and Impact verticals.
Prior to his time at Venture University, Ben was an Account Executive at Remedly, providing Practice Management software to private medical practices. Before joining Remedly, Ben was an Analyst at Citigroup in both the Equity Derivatives and Securitized Products desks in Chicago.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Colby College where he studied Economics with a concentration in Financial Markets. In his spare time, Ben is an avid Arsenal FC fan and sneaker collector.
Ellen Gardin
Events and Office Associate
Ellen Gardin is a Bay Area native who moved to Oakland after living abroad in Italy for four years. She earned her BA from the American University of Rome, where she focused her studies on sustainable food systems.
She previously worked in Europe and the US with tourism and festival/film production before making the switch to the cannabis industry. She currently serves as the Events and Office Associate for Arcview.
In her spare time, Ellen enjoys hiking with her pup, travel, cooking, and yoga.
Marc Brandl
European Representative
Sumit Mehta
Strategy & Finance Consultant
Sumit currently works on strategy and finance for Arcview in addition to running Mazakali, a cannabis consulting company based in the Bay Area. Sumit has been an angel investor in the cannabis space since 2013 with ventures across Colorado, California, and Oregon. Sumit is a mentor to Canopy companies and is involved in the craft beer industry in Illinois and Indiana. Sumit is also a supporter of the Marijuana Policy Project and Students for Sensible Drug Policy. As a member, shareholder and employee, Sumit brings a unique perspective to his role at Arcview.
Prior to joining Arcview, Sumit spent nearly two decades in financial capital markets across sales, business development, management, research, analysis, valuation, strategy, capital introduction, institutional-level relationship management, wealth advisory, investment planning and operational consulting in domestic and overseas markets.
Sumit’s past experience includes: Financial Advisor, J.P. Morgan Securities, Director of Business Development, DiMeo Schneider and Associates; Founder and Managing Partner, Emerald Ventures; Head of Midwest Sales and Trading, Susquehanna Financial Group, Director of Institutional Equity Sales, UBS Investment Bank; and Equity Research Analyst, Raymond James Financial.
Sumit earned a B.A. in Economics with Honors from the University of Texas and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. He currently resides in San Francisco and continues to grow his involvement in the cannabis industry.
Patrick Rea
Advisor
Patrick Rea served as the Executive Editor for Arcview Market Research’s 3rd edition of The State of Legal Marijuana Markets. He is also the CEO and Managing Director of CanopyBoulder, Arcview’s partner seed-stage business accelerator.
In the last 15 years, Patrick has developed a reputation as a self-care industry expert and analyst who has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs build profitable and fast-growing businesses. Patrick successfully has led numerous investment banking, strategic consulting, venture capital, publishing, event management, digital media and ecommerce businesses.
He graduated with degrees from Brown University, and resides in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and two daughters.
Patrick’s background includes 8-years as Publisher & Editorial Director of Nutrition Business Journal, the “journal of record” for the nutrition industry. In this role, Patrick led a team of editors and researchers in their effort to provide an unbiased perspective on the nutrition industry for its CEO, investor, consultant and thought leader subscribers. NBJ published a monthly journal, market research reports, webinars and proprietary data on this privately held industry. While at NBJ, Patrick also was the Chairman the NBJ Summit, an executive retreat for 400 CEOs in the nutrition industry.
Roy Bingham
Advisor
Roy Bingham is a Harvard MBA and former McKinsey consultant, a serial entrepreneur and founder of BDS Analytics. He grew up in the UK, was a banker/financier in London, then moved to the USA in 1993.
Bingham started BDS Analytics after recognizing that the emerging cannabis industry lacked the kind of sophisticated, sales-based data that is both commonplace and essential in other, more established industries. In those industries, market research – and consumer behavior – drive everything from new product development to inventory and branding decisions.
Among his prior businesses, Bingham had been both an early investor in SPINS – a very successful data analytics company for the Natural Products Industry and later an expert user of their data as a senior marketing executive in natural products.
Tom Adams
Editor-in-Chief of Arcview Market Research
Steve Berg
Advisor
Steve Berg served as the editor of Arcview Market Research’s 2nd Edition of The State of Legal Marijuana Markets. He also played a key role in the creation of the Arcview Investor Network where he remains an engaged advisor and member. Steve Berg is currently Chief Financial Officer at O.penVAPE (Organa Labs), one of the largest national branded companies in the legal cannabis industry. He works on matters relating to finance, business development, investor relations, and corporate strategy.
Steve has over 22 years experience in investment banking, capital markets, and venture finance. Mr. Berg ran BRC LLC, an advisory firm focused on working with investors and companies in the legal marijuana markets.
Formerly a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Bank’s capital markets group, he also worked at UBS and Banque Paribas in New York. He was an innovator of structured funding and investment solutions for key commercial and private bank clients in credit, equity and commodity markets.
Steve has an MBA from New York University as well as a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from San Francisco State University. He is passionate about yoga and salsa music, and is active with the Feed the Artists culinary art program at Burning Man.
Francis Priznar
Chief Mentor
Francis J. Priznar is Chief Mentor, directing a team of staff and external experts focused on helping hundreds of high potential entrepreneurs in quest of capital and/or valuable advice.
Mr. Priznar’s relevant background includes three years directing a national analytical testing laboratory, two years managing a state regulatory agency program, and over 20 years as a trusted advisor to private and government sector clients. He founded or cofounded four private firms and two non-profit organizations, acquired two, and sold one. He has authored or co-authored dozens of books and articles on contemporary business topics such as sustainability, management systems, auditing, regulatory compliance, leadership, and fundraising.
Effective from the Board Room to the Boiler Room, Mr. Priznar provides Arcview, as well as its members and stakeholder’s, seasoned judgement and experience. He has served on Boards at academic institutions and nonprofit organizations – usually in leadership positions.
Mr. Priznar is a cannabis sector investor with a personal portfolio of over 20 companies. His formal education is in science, engineering, and management. Since 1987, he has resided in the same house with the same spouse near Washington, DC.
Gregg Steinberg
Board Member
Steven K. Lee
Outside General Counsel
Steven Lee has a wealth of experience in representing and consulting with companies in the legal cannabis industry. His clients include dispensaries, investors, equipment manufacturers, producers of edibles, consulting firms, and other start-up companies in the industry.
Steven has advised both investors and emerging companies on a broad range of legal issues pertaining to financing deals, including structuring of investments to address Section 280E issues. He has also worked on a variety of joint ventures in the legal cannabis industry. His transactions include: advising an angel investor on a multi-million dollar investment in several dispensaries located in Oregon; representing a group of successful dispensary owners in launching a legal cannabis consulting firm; and working on celebrity licensing deals in the cannabis industry.
Steven is a partner at the law firm of Donahue Fitzgerald LLP and is a co-chair of the Business and Corporate Transactions Group and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group.