Item 9 Labs today announced it has executed a major restructuring in an effort to right-size its operations and cost structure while working toward national expansion of its Item 9 Labs product brand and return to profitability.
Executive Management and Board of Directors Changes and Update:
- Michael Weinberger has resigned as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors and entered into a Strategic Advisor agreement to focus on the Company’s retail franchise, Unity Rd.
- Chairman Doug Bowden has been named Interim Chief Executive Officer.
- Director Jeffrey Rassás has been appointed to Strategic Advisor and will be primarily driving investor & public relations as well as capital needs.
- Chris Wolven, current Chief Operating Officer, will now oversee all Company entities and operations and will be the primary Company-facing executive for Item 9 Labs Corp.
- Michael Keskey has resigned as Chief Legal Officer.
- Lawrence X. Taylor has resigned as a member of the Board of Directors.
With the continued evolution of the cannabis and capital markets, Item 9 Labs Corp. has implemented significant cost reductions to build on its $400 thousand of positive Adjusted EBITDA in its fiscal second quarter 2023 in an effort to return to profitability. The company anticipates that the operating expenses and overhead reductions should total more than $3.5 million annually. In addition to the reductions in operating costs, the company is in discussions with current and prospective lenders to restructure its outstanding debts to clean up the balance sheet and reduce overall interest expense.
Item 9 Labs Corp.'s Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Doug Bowden, has invested more than $15 million into Item 9 Labs Corp. over the past several years. After observing continuing challenges and with Weinberger’s resignation, Bowden is taking a more active role to support Wolven and Rassás as well as a streamlined board.
Beyond enhancing current cultivation and production in Arizona, the company is focused on expanding the Item 9 Labs brand to new state markets through various capital light models.
In addition to domestic expansion, the Company is continuing to work toward closing its proposed acquisition of Sessions Cannabis, which would bring its Unity Rd. cannabis franchise to Canada.
