Executive Management

Charlie Bachtell has served as Cresco Labs’ Chief Executive Officer since February 2015. His vision is to create an organizational culture where employees feel empowered, valued and appreciated and serve as owners, stewards and leaders of the cannabis industry—a leadership style with core values established early on that has guided Cresco Labs as an efficient growth company and are shaping cannabis into a robust and responsible industry.

Prior to co-founding Cresco Labs, Mr. Bachtell worked for a decade at Guaranteed Rate as its Executive Vice President and General Counsel. In this role, he guided the company as the mortgage industry transitioned from unregulated to hyperregulated, with a state-by-state regulatory framework. Through this unique experience, Mr. Bachtell is one of the leading authorities on corporate governance and complex regulatory compliance in the cannabis industry.

Currently, Mr. Bachtell is the Chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable. He is a founding member of the Illinois Cannabis Bar Association, as well as cannabis industry trade associations in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio. He is a board member of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, National Cannabis Bar Association and National Cannabis Industry Association. In addition, Mr. Bachtell is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, teaching a course on legal and regulatory issues in the cannabis industry.

He is the recipient of the Captains of the Industry Award from the American Trade Association for Cannabis Hemp. Through his leadership of Cresco Labs, the company has been recognized as a Best-Led American Company by Inc. magazine. Cresco Labs was also named one of the fastest growing businesses in Chicago by Crain’s and ranked the fastest growing U.S. cannabis company on Financial Times’ fourth annual list of The America’s Fastest Growing Companies.

Mr. Bachtell holds a B.S. from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from DePaul University’s College of Law.

Dennis Olis has more than 20 years of operational management, financial planning and analysis, accounting, financial reporting, tax, internal audit, treasury, and mergers and acquisitions experience.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Olis served as the Chief Financial Officer for AllScripts, where he oversaw corporate financial strategy, cost management, capital allocation and balance sheet optimization. Of his numerous achievements, he led the $185 million acquisition of McKesson’s healthcare business.

Prior to his service at AllScripts, he held a variety of senior finance and operations positions at Motorola Inc.

In 2023, Mr. Olis was named a Notable Chief Financial Officer by Crain’s Chicago Business.

He holds a B.S. from Marquette University and an M.B.A. from the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University.

Angie Demchenko has played an instrumental role in spurring growth at Cresco Labs, including expanding its workforce to over 3,000 employees—over 300 of which were onboard through eight acquisitions. With a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, she has increased representation of women and minorities to make up over half of the company’s employee population.

Previously, she served as Vice President, Head of Human Resources for Starwood Retail Partners LLC, the retail real estate arm of Starwood Capital Group and leading operator of shopping malls and lifestyle centers. Additionally, she was the Vice President, Human Resources for General Growth Properties (“GGP”), one of the largest shopping mall owners in the U.S. (prior to its acquisition by Brookfield Property Partners). Mrs. Demchenko also served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Jones Lang LaSalle, a Fortune 500 commercial real estate services firm. She began her career as Human Resources Manager in the Global Business Services Group at Accenture.

In 2020, Mrs. Demchenko was recognized as a Notable Leader in the Human Resources field by Crain's Chicago Business.

She holds B.B.A & B.Comm. degrees from the University of Western Ontario.

Ty Gent joined Cresco Labs with more than 35 years of consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) and supply chain leadership experience. Previously, he served as the Chief Supply Chain Officer at US Foods, where he developed and implemented a new supply chain strategy, optimized its large-scale transportation network, launched field-based continuous improvement processes, and upgraded key systems technologies and planning capabilities.

He also worked at PepsiCo for 30 years in various executive management positions. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Gent led end-to-end supply chain operations for PepsiCo foods in South and Central America as the Senior Vice President of Operations. In another role, Senior Vice President of Logistics, he steered the PepsiCo transportation network for North America and the warehouse delivery network for Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana divisions within PepsiCo’s North America beverage sector.

As a subject matter expert in supply chain optimization, sales and operations planning, manufacturing, warehouse management, distribution, and quality and safety, Mr. Gent brings expertise that is directly transferable to Cresco Labs’ key focus of producing and distributing branded products at substantial scale.

Mr. Gent holds an M.B.A. and a B.B.A. from Kent State University.

Greg Butler brings to Cresco Labs a strong background in driving brand growth for top-tier CPG companies. Additionally, he has provided business growth and capital management strategic advising for leading private equity portfolio companies.

Mr. Butler’s accomplishments include launching the company’s Sunnyside retail brand nationally, expanding its portfolio of cannabis brands and increasing wholesale distribution from two states to all ten within Cresco Labs’ operating footprint. His leadership helped the company achieve record revenue in 2022, including record branded unit volume and retail transactions, and maintain leadership as the number one most sold house of brands in the United States.

Previously, Mr. Butler worked at MillerCoors (now Molson Coors Beverage Company), where he led the Miller Family of brands, a $2 billion portfolio, overseeing more than $225 million in annual spend. He also held various positions at Kraft Foods, Walgreens and Pfizer.

In 2021, he was named a Notable Executive in Marketing by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Mr. Butler holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm degree from Queen’s University.

Zach Marburger oversees the technological and data infrastructure throughout the organization and is responsible for designing, scaling and implementing technological systems and data platforms to optimize the customer experience. Throughout his tenure with Cresco Labs, he has served in various executive roles supporting Retail, Operations and Technology functions.

An entrepreneur, Mr. Marburger was previously involved in Colorado’s cannabis technology industry. He founded and acted as the Chief Executive Officer of Whaxy, a startup offering software tools like menu management and online ordering for cannabis retail dispensaries and businesses. It was acquired by cannabis technology platform, MassRoots.

He holds a B.A. from Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis (“IUPUI”).

Jason Erkes is responsible for shaping and directing the corporate internal and external communications strategy and serves as the company’s media spokesperson. A seasoned Communications strategist, Mr. Erkes has helped position Cresco Labs’ leadership in cannabis through education, transparency and relationships cultivated with influential journalists. His innovative efforts have helped build a company culture dedicated to connection, authenticity and community.

Mr. Erkes has been a journalist, political advisor, entrepreneur, turnaround expert, community leader and philanthropist. He was named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential Communications Professionals to Watch in Cannabis” by Green Market Report. Crain’s Chicago Business recognized him as a “Rising Star” in its 40 Under 40 list; he has won Emmy Awards for excellence in journalism while representing ABC News and Fox News; and he has received national political recognition as a recipient of the prestigious Reed Award from Campaigns & Elections magazine.

Mr. Erkes holds a B.A. from Columbia College Chicago.

John Schetz oversees all legal matters for the company and serves as the primary legal advisor to its executive management team and Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Cresco Labs, Mr. Schetz served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Stericycle Inc., overseeing global legal affairs. Mr. Schetz was also a partner in the corporate department of McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Chicago.

Mr. Schetz’s experience as a leader of a large law firm and a multinational public company brings a broad and deep understanding of legal and business matters across multiple industries to Cresco Labs.

In 2019, he was named a Notable General Counsel by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Mr. Schetz holds a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.