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In an industry that has been obsessed with expanding cultivation, opening dispensaries, or landing distribution deals, recent shifts in the cannabis landscape are now seeing companies focus on internal employee-based changes.

With the North American market experiencing major growing pains ahead of new legalization efforts, employee reductions and senior management shake-ups are putting a bigger onus on recruiting and managing more effective talent.

On that front, today KushCo Holdings Inc. (OTCQX: KSHB) just filled the newly-created position of Chief People Officer.

Rhiana Barr, a former National HR Program Manager at food and drink conglomerate Nestlé USA, will officially move into the position today.

Barr previously spearheaded a talent acquisition team as Head of HR Business Partners at Cetera Financial Group and also served as Director of Human Resources at Clearwater Paper Corporation.

Working with business-to-business cannabis and CBD company KushCo, Barr will be in charge of all aspects of employee relations, from recruiting to payroll. She will will also be tasked with crafting a new employee inclusion strategy and an ongoing talent review process.

Commenting on the need for the HR management job, KushCo CEO Nick Kovacevich stated:

Our desire to create an entirely new role to attract and nurture our greatest asset has been a top priority for us, which is why we took the time to ensure we bring in the right individual who can make a meaningful impact from day one, especially at a time where we have pulled back on headcount growth in order to build a pathway toward achieving sustainable profitability.

Reducing overall headcount or halting construction plans to trim expenses has been a recurring theme for cannabis companies in recent months, with Emerald Health Therapeutics trimming its workforce by 33% so far this year, and MedMen Enterprises announcing a 90-day plan earlier this month to lay off 190 employees.

In other news, KushCo recently released fiscal Q4 and full fiscal 2019 numbers showing the company hit its guidance of $149 million in revenue for the period ending Aug. 31.

Despite landing at the revenue target, the company still saw a net loss of $39.6 million for the year, with a loss per share of $0.35.

About Author

Ty Arthur

Ty Arthur

Ty Arthur has spent the last decade of his journalism career covering everything from cutting-edge tech to local news through outlets such as the Houston Chronicle. He has focused on the counterculture aspects of society, from marijuana legalization to underground music through Metalunderground.com and rapidly changing trends in the entertainment industry. He lives in the cold, dark north with his wife and son.

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