Kurt Forstmann Email & Phone Number

Calgary, Ab, Ca

Player/coach managing an international sales team focused on cannabis consumables, contract manufacturing and bulk ingredients. Our range includes cannabis-based wellness, and recreational supplements, like gummies, extracts, flower, pre-rolls, edibles & topicals. Serving multiple wholesale channels, including natural grocery, dispensary, healthcare and alternative retail, we lean into data to drive winning product and sales strategies.

Helping growth stage companies create / implement capital markets campaigns, establish SOPs for marketing, discovery, diligence and reporting. Utilize advanced data analytics to evaluate financial and operational risk.- Currently, I'm managing a sell-side M&A division I built for an established real estate firm. I implemented SOPs for discovery, diligence, risk-analysis and reporting, and built a pipeline valued at $70M within 6 weeks. - In 2021, I fundraised +$10M in Series B financing for clients in SaaS Tech, distribution and manufacturing. Capital sourced from family offices, HNW and PE firms. Responsible for lifecycle fundraising activities, including creating the offering, marketing, structuring and closing. - 2019-2020, I built/ managed a $100M buy-side M&A program for a vertically-integrated cannabis company sponsored by 3 family offices; Established strategy & metrics, standardized reporting & analytics. Tactical responsibilities were discovery, diligence, risk analysis/mitigation, structuring and contracts.

Denver, Co, Us

Lead corporate development program with mandate to expand/enhance a national cannabis brand platform, including investments, partnering and licensing. Coalesce cross-department stakeholders to set corporate development goals and metrics. Specific duties were: identifying, feasing, structuring and contracts with high-value 3rd parties to achieve our goals. Board reporting and observing. Partnerships created include: a LATAM partnership for IP sharing and co-manufacturing/ distribution of group product portfolio; implemented a cannabis brand-extension for a major RTD tea brand, and a mainstream nutritional supplement company, to create, manufacturer and distribute marijuana and hemp SKUs.

Denver, Co, Us

Category responsibility for wellness division focused on cbd / lo-thc ingestibles and topicals. Organized and managed cross-functional departments to commercialize, manufacture and sell wellness brand into multiple regulated state marijuana markets, and national (and intl) markets for hemp/cbd. Managed multi-channel distribution program including DTC (eCommerce), B2B for dispensaries and traditional retail including independent and chain stores, including: wakefern, wegmens, shoprite, bed bath & beyond and dollar general. Divisional P&L responsibility and guided stakeholders to set innovation roadmap, milestones and budgets for a portfolio of 50+ SKUs. Managed department heads day-to-day to execute annual business plan, regularly interfacing with R&D, production, compliance, sales, marketing, distribution, warehousing, logistics and customer service. Milestones include direct involvement in gaining widespread mainstream distribution for hemp human and animal supplements; securing university-lead Phase 1 clinical trials; securing USPTO protection (w/ counsel) for novel cannabinoid emulsification process; ideating (w/ science dept) innovations related to micro-dosing and novel form factors for medicine delivery; implementing production and distribution partnership in Australia and New Zealand, and successfully obtained import and novel ingredients approval from Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Denver, Co, Us

Established country's first mainstream hemp-wellness product line (www.dixiebotanicals.com), and category influencer. Initially stood up our B2B sales program within brick & mortar retailers, included creation and delivery of "CBD 101" education across a diverse early adopted crowd of budtenders, healthcare practitioners and independent retailers. As business exploded (very quickly to $1M/month in sales) I migrated to the role of GM where I had to had to build a department from scratch with the functions of manufacturing, marketing, compliance, sales, customer service and logistics. I handled day-to-day management of these employees and was ultimately responsible for the performance of hemp category within a regulated marijauna business. Deeply involved in setting brand and distribution strategy to include new DTC channel online. Key contributor in building a novel supply chain that was both redudant and compliant for an exotic ingredient (at the time). Also had regular Board reporting responsibility.

Denver, Co, Us

Bootstrapped Colorado's Western Slope sales territory for sale of THC-infused beverages ("Dixie Elixirs") into Colorado's new medical marijuana industry. Sales road warrior and delivery of 50mg-100mg beverages from lemonade, grape, iced tea and orange flavors. Layed groundwork for Dixie's Colorado distribution footprint, by onboarding 50+ medical dispensaries, that eventually flicked to recreational in later years becoming consumers of Dixie's expansive recreational portfolio.

Buy side project financing and acquisition at PE firm investing in renewables. I worked with a small partner team to syndicate +$200M in equity from PE firms/ family offices, and bank debt to build waste-to-energy projects in TX & NC. Deeply involved in project identification, diligence, structuring and acquisition.

Buy side financial manager for multiple LLCs building regional-scale mixed use real estate projects in CO and MD, raising over $200M with CFO. Responsible for project due diligence, offering memorandum, proforma modelling and investor relations. Funding provided via family offices, pension funds and banks. Also, involved with site selection process, entitlement and land planning, with exposure to special taxing districts, water rights negotiation, and annexation. Project Portfolio- Winding Creek Ranch, 1000ac PUD in Gypsum, CO- Kent Place, a 12ac mixed use development in Englewood, CO- Traer Creek, 1800ac mixed use development in Avon, CO

Consulting Portfolio Manager for Circuit City Stores, Mattress Discounters and Heilig Myers.• Portfolio Management: Optimized portfolio returns for 50 Circuit City stores, 20 Heilig Myers stores, and 30 Mattress Discounters stores via lease re-structuring, disposition & refinancing.• Strategy & Planning: Developed pre-construction budgeting and business plans for joint venture and external partners; Designed and implemented structure of capital offering.

Lead Asset Manager for 3 property portfolio: 300,000 SF neighborhood retail center, 400-acre master planned golf course community, and 3M square feet of mixed use PUD.• Financial Management: Developed & managed portfolio operating and tenant association budgets; Primary lender interface; Billing & collection of rent and NNN from retail and office tenants.• Property Management: Managed operations and maintenance program for retail, residential and office assets; managed tenant association as owner’s rep. • Leasing: Owners rep for onsite leasing of retail and office space; Key contributor in asset sale to institutional buyer.