User:Sschneider621/sandbox

Pete Kadens
Peter Albert Kadens (born 8 September 1977) is an entrepreneur and social justice advocate who currently serves as the CEO of Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a Chicago-based company that owns and operates medical cannabis cultivation centers and dispensaries.

Early Life and Education
Kadens was born on September 8, 1977 in Akron, Ohio to mother Judith Kadens, a leader in the local non-profit community and a politician in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, and father Michael, a lawyer and professor and associate dean of University of Toledo (OH) Law School. Kadens is the youngest of four siblings.

Kadens earned his high school diploma from Ottawa Hills High School in 1996 and his Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Bucknell University in 2000. While at Bucknell, Kadens served as Interfraternity Council President and won the Gary Sojka award for his initiative to ban beer kegs on campus due to safety and insurance policy liabilities.

Career
UBS

Upon graduating from Bucknell in 2000, Kadens began his career working in an investment banking rotational program at UBS in New York, New York.

Acquirent

Kadens founded Acquirent in 2003. The company was ranked the number one outsourced sales company in the United States in 2006 by “The Black Book of Outsourcing.” Kadens developed a client roster that included Staples Office Supplies, Constellation Energy, Accent Energy, MX Energy, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Midas International and Sears Holdings. His struggles and achievements as a young entrepreneur at Acquirent were chronicled by Inc Magazine in a column called “Diary of a Startup” in 2005.

SoCore Energy In 2008, Kadens and Glen Tullman founded SoCore Energy, a company focused on delivering solar energy to commercial real estate. Kadens and Tullman grew SoCore into a multi-million dollar business with Fortune 500 commercial and industrial clients including Walgreens, IKEA, Simon Properties, Healthcare REIT, KIMCO, Cinemark, Target and FedEx. In 2010, SoCore was named one of Chicago’s most innovative businesses by the Chicago Innovation Awards.

In 2013, Kadens and Tullman sold SoCore to Fortune 500 utility holding company, Edison International. Kadens remained active as SoCore’s President and Chief Sales Officer until 2015. Today, SoCore operations in 17 states.

Green Thumb Industries Kadens was one of the seven founding partners of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (GTI) Illinois, a medical cannabis company that grows and distributes medical cannabis across the state of Illinois. In 2016, Kadens and co-founder Ben Kovler created GTI Investments, which is focused on expanding GTI into new markets beyond Illinois including Nevada, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Philanthropy
Holocaust Remembrance Board and Illinois Holocaust Museum (2002-2011) Kadens was a founder and member of the board of directors of the Holocaust Remembrance Board (HRB), a group of young professionals focused on supporting the perpetuation of the stories of Holocaust survivors. Kadens was then named the youngest director ever of the Illinois Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

Streetwise (2009-Present) Kadens has served in chairman and vice-chairman roles with Streetwise since 2009. Streetwise is a social enterprise designed to help the homeless and those at risk of homelessness out of poverty by providing under-served individuals with support and opportunities for professional growth and real employment.

CARA Program 2013-Present Kadens is on the board of The CARA Program, which prepares and inspires motivated individuals to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, transform their lives, strengthen our communities, and forge paths to real and lasting success.

Marijuana Policy Project (2016-Present) Kadens is a board member of the Marijuana Policy Project, the largest organization in the U.S. focused solely on ending marijuana prohibition. .