StaffSeptember 2, 2021
The presence of technology has changed the entire world. In the cannabis industry, it is the backbone of most operations whether discussing extraction, seed to sale tracking, customer management software, loyalty program apps or platforms to conduct delivery operations. Technology is everywhere in the cannabis space. Major investment seems to continue to pour into technology for this industry, for example Jane Technologies just announced a $100 million dollars raise. This is big money and it comes with big minds. Green Market Report decided to highlight some of the best and brightest in cannabis technology. Here are a few power players who we feel you should know.
David McCullough, Chief Technology Officer of Akerna
Prior to being appointed CTO of Akerna, David McCullough served as Akerna’s Executive Vice President of Product & Engineering for the last five years, overseeing all software development, development operations, quality assurance, automations, systems, and security operations. He has over 16 years of Software Engineering experience.
Before joining Akerna, he was the CTO of StudentPublishing.com, where he actively managed the technical aspects of Student Publishing’s sale to and systems integration with lulu.com.
David has extensive government systems experience and was also a professor at New Mexico State University where he taught courses in data communications and networking.
Navin Anand, Chief Technology Officer of springbig
Navin Graduated Northern Illinois University with a masters in electrical engineering and a masters in technology and management.
Navin has over 15 years experience in software engineering including leading a team of 100 engineers at Verifone, one of the world’s largest multinational payment processing and POS solution providers. In his time at Verifone, Navin crafted solutions for blue-chip brands including McDonalds, YUM Brands, and Visa.
Navin is recognized as a data-driven leader and problem solver who is able to streamline the software engineering delivery and QA process through advanced systems automation and project management, reducing time to delivery and aligning various IT sub-departments into a common system that speak the same language.
Tiffany Burtt, Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Bulb Tech
Burtt is the Founder and CEO of Bulb Tech. With 15 years of throttling early-stage startups to the market on a bootstrap budget, Tiffany Burtt, delivers performance focused products and technology solutions to aide in launch strategies, boosting sales and capturing new opportunities. Recognized for creating rich and flawless CX design, her product innovation and solutions consistently propel revenue growth and drive strategic business initiatives to elevate the company vision. Since 2014, two of Tiffany’s projects have been acquired by Fortune 500 companies.
In 2016, Tiffany took the plunge and applied 20 years of experience as a woman in tech and her lifelong affair with cannabis to build a powerful set of business tools solving critical challenges in the industry. With unwavering passion, she believes in the combined power of cannabis and tech to improve our lives and create a sustainable impact. Tiffany’s company, BulbTech, is woman owned and operated.
Tiffany’s work doesn’t stop with technology. She is a fierce advocate for women, minorities, veterans, and the LGBT community as it relates to medical cannabis and overall business. She educates, mentors, and consults with new businesses facing the challenges of an emerging industry.
Burtt built a global team with varying skills and diverse backgrounds. Her reach spans India, Pakistan, London, Russia, Belarus, Sweden, Netherlands, Indonesia and the US.
From digital idea/product concept into executable definition, both technically and operationally, to the market, on-budget. Tiffany is sassy, scrappy, original, and driven.
Marc Lopez, Chief Technology Officer of Drop Delivery
Marc Lopez is the CTO and co-founder of Drop Delivery, the cannabis industry’s only all-in-one delivery technology solution for retailers. A twenty-something serial entrepreneur, Marc previously co-founded Greenlight Technologies, a leading order-ahead and digital loyalty software in the cannabis industry, which was acquired in 2018 by publicly-traded Leafbuyer Technologies.
Before jumping into the cannabis industry, Marc co-founded two vape industry software companies, the e-commerce platform Vape Block, and the peer-to-peer marketplace Vape Mail in 2015, where he built the technology that both platforms ran on. The motivation to develop a peer-to-peer marketplace came from his previous startup, Uniform in 2015, a peer-to-peer marketplace for the fashion industry.
While in college, and with his current Drop Delivery co-founders Vanessa and Jade Gabriel, Marc co-founded aSociete in 2011, a shopping platform for millennials to shop for their favorite fashion brands from all across the web in a simple, entertaining, and engaging way.
Marc Sherman, Chief Information Officer of HERBL
Prior to joining HERBL, he was Vice President, Information Technology for FedEx Supply Chain, a $1.6B subsidiary of FedEx focused on Third-Party Logistics in multiple verticals including Technology, Retail, Consumer Products and Healthcare across over 130 sites in North America.
Before joining FedEx, Marc served on active duty in the United States Air Force for 20 years where he held multiple Operations and Logistics management positions in the United States, Europe, and Southwest Asia. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Information Systems and is a former Adjunct Professor with Northwood University.
Sherman currently lives in Keller, Texas with his wife Caroline.
