Holy Smokes! The cannabis industry is lighting up with new job opportunities all over the USA and Canada. With estimates for cannabis jobs projected to reach 467,000 by 2022, according to Arcview and BDS Analytics, it is evident there is a serious need for high-level executive and management talent to take the industry to the next level.
Looking to Help
My foray into the cannabis industry started as packaging specialist and supplier for the cannabis industry for the past 5 years. Back in 2013, Cannabis conferences and tradeshows were filled with booths representing ancillary product companies hoping to be purchased for their “ground-breaking” lighter-dab-tool concept that they were marketing. There were very few packaging companies looking to help, so I saw a huge need and dove in head first to take on the task.
Meet John Comeau
Fast forward to 2015 and I’m running the cannabis packaging division at Fisher Container Corp. A fellow salesman Matt (who trained me on flexible packaging) mentioned that a friend of his with 13 years of experience in recruiting executives for emerging industries wanted to talk to me about cannabis. I picked up the phone and John Comeau introduced himself through the receiver and told me of his vision to place top executive and management level candidates in the cannabis industry. With incredible fore-sight, John had found an untapped niche in the Next Great American Industry and was laying the groundwork for H2 Talent.
Just 3 years later, the market has become diluted with packaging companies competing for pennies to undersell their competition. As someone committed to impacting the growth and maturity of the industry as a whole, I decided to look elsewhere for an opportunity to help.
Chicago, to Colorado, Back to John Comeau
In April of this year, I packed up my belongings in Chicago and headed for Colorado to find my next chapter. Working as an independent packaging representative lost its flair as I found my customers really did not need me anymore. Any product I could provide was being knocked off over-seas and being sold for pennies on the dollar, so I was fighting an uphill battle. To top it off, packaging compliance and protocols were common knowledge and I realized through conversations with my clients that my work in guidance had come to an end. That is when I received the call that changed my career and revamped my drive for growing the industry.
John Comeau called again that day after he found out I moved to Colorado, because apparently, so did he. John told me he might have an opportunity for me. So, I headed off to Boulder where John and I chowed down on some local treats – tacos from Bar Taco on Pearl Street. This is where John told me that he brought his vision to life.
I. WAS. IN.
John joined forces with Jay Czarkowski and Michelle Whitmore, two other dynamic founding partners, to launch H2 Talent: an executive search firm for the cannabis industry. By leveraging their networks from both inside and outside of the cannabis industry, they planned to promote legitimacy by placing top talented executives for growing cannabis companies. John asked me to join the team as their business development manager and… I. WAS. IN!!!!
My first calls were to old friends in the industry where I found the affirmation I was looking for.
“Wow, Gus, you really have something there…”
“It’s about time somebody decided to help with recruiting!”
“You guys are solving a major problem in the current industry.”
Never have I found such welcoming arms by even companies I was ICE-cold-calling, nor have I ever found such appreciation for our work.
Mission: A Perfect Fit
I am incredibly appreciative of the opportunity to be part of such an amazing team and look forward to coming to work every day knowing we are impacting every corner of the industry. I found my perfect fit. The company echoes my excitement to promote the industry, do right by people, and have fun while we do it. Now, I am on a mission to find the best fit for everybody else.
hire.higher
Gus Green, Business Development Manager
