Board of Directors

Tom Manning has served as the company’s Chairman and Director since October 2016. Mr. Manning is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dun & Bradstreet, a leading provider of corporate information and analytics. Mr. Manning serves as a director of CommScope and ChinData. He is also a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, an executive-in-residence at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, and a former adjunct faculty member at the University of Chicago Law School where he taught corporate governance, private equity, innovation and US-China relations. He was based in Hong Kong for nearly 20 years and served as CEO of Cerberus Capital Asia, Capgemini Asia and Ernst & Young Consulting Asia, and as a senior partner at Bain & Company.

During the past decade, he served on the boards of various publicly listed Chinese companies, including Bank of Communications, Gome Electrical Appliances, AsiaInfo-Linkage, iSoftStone and Clear Media. Earlier in his career, he was extensively involved in the medical field as the founder and CEO of a biomedical device company and a founder of McKinsey’s health care consulting practice.

A graduate of Harvard University and Stanford University, he speaks Mandarin and is a frequent speaker and commentator on innovation, governance and China. Mr. Manning holds a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Cresco Labs believes Mr. Manning is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of his past leadership roles and financial services industry knowledge.

Tarik Brooks has served as a director of Cresco Labs since April 2021. Mr. Brooks has served as the President of Combs Enterprises since August 2020. Before becoming President of Combs Enterprises, Mr. Brooks held other executive roles at Combs Enterprises, including Chief Operating Officer from June 2019 to July 2020, Vice President, Office of the Chairman from February 2018 to May 2019 and Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman from May 2017 to December 2017. Prior to his roles at Combs Enterprises, Mr. Brooks was a Senior Management Associate for Bridgewater Associates from November 2013 to March 2017.

He holds a B.B.A. from Howard University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Cresco Labs believes Mr. Brooks is qualified to serve on its board of directors because of his extensive experience building companies in dynamic environments in the United States and abroad

Carol Vallone has served as director of Cresco Labs since July 2020. Ms. Vallone serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees at McLean Hospital, a freestanding psychiatric hospital and the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School. She also serves on the board of trustees at MGH Institute of Health Professions, and on the finance committee at Mass General Brigham. Additionally, Ms. Vallone serves on the board of directors of the Bain Capital Double Impact portfolio company, Arosa; as an Advisory Director for the private investment firm Berkshire Partners; and as an Advisory Board Member of the healthcare-focused venture growth firm, Longitude Capital. She has also served on multiple boards at leading non-profit healthcare, public financial services, and e-commerce organizations. In addition to serving on the Company’s board of directors, Ms. Vallone joined the board of directors for Mind Medicine (“MindMed”) Inc. in September 2021.

Ms. Vallone holds a B.S. degree from the University of Delaware. Cresco Labs believes Ms. Vallone is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of the expertise she adds from her strong track record in launching, scaling and managing global companies.

Gerald Corcoran has served as a director Cresco Labs since March 2017. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of R.J. O'Brien & Associates, LLC (“RJO”) since 2000 and Chairman of the Board since 2007. Celebrating its Centennial in 2014, Chicago-based RJO is the nation’s oldest and largest independent futures brokerage firm and the last surviving founding member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (now CME Group). Mr. Corcoran joined RJO in 1987 as Chief Financial Officer and served in this capacity until 1992 when he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. RJO is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and subject to PCAOB standards. Therefore, Mr. Corcoran’s service as an executive and a member of the audit committee of RJO provided him with a vast amount of experience navigating highly regulated financial environments.

Prior to joining RJO, Mr. Corcoran served as the Controller of the Chicago Sun-Times, which at the time was the nation’s seventh largest daily newspaper. In July 2014, Mr. Corcoran was elected Chairman of the FIA (formerly Futures Industry Association), and he served in that position until March 2016. At that time, following the January merger of the organization with its European and Asian counterparts, he was elected Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the newly unified FIA, the leading trade organization for the futures, options and cleared swaps markets worldwide. Mr. Corcoran served in that role until March 2017. Mr. Corcoran serves on the FIA’s Executive Committee as well as its Americas Advisory Board. He has been a member of FIA’s Board of Directors since March 2008 and served as Vice Chairman from March 2013 until July 2014.

Mr. Corcoran also serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the National Futures Association (“NFA”), the self-regulatory organization for the futures industry and a de facto regulator, of which Mr. Corcoran served on the executive committee for over 5 years. Mr. Corcoran previously served on the Board of the Institute for Financial Markets and is a former member of the Risk Committee of CME Group. Both the NFA and CME Group are also regulated by the CFTC, further bolstering Mr. Corcoran’s experience in dealing with financial regulators. Additionally, Mr. Corcoran is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. 

Cresco Labs believes Mr. Corcoran is qualified to serve on its board of directors because of his experience as an executive and director in the financial services and investment industries.

Michele Roberts has served as a director of Cresco Labs since July 2020. From 2014 to January 2022, Ms. Roberts served as the Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association (“NBPA”), working on behalf of NBA players to ensure their rights are protected and are fairly compensated for the value they bring to the sport and their impact on society. Prior to joining the NBPA, she was a trial lawyer with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Her practice focused on complex civil and white-collar criminal litigation before state and federal courts and in administrative proceedings.

Ms. Roberts is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She worked for eight years in the office of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where she was named Chief of the Trial Division and served as counsel in more than 40 jury trials. Ms. Roberts is a frequent lecturer and presenter to both the bench and bar on a variety of topics related to litigation and trial practice. She taught trial advocacy as an adjunct member of the faculty at Harvard Law School and was an instructor with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Ms. Roberts holds a J.D.  from the University of California at Berkley and a B.A. degree from Wesleyan University. Cresco Labs believes Ms. Roberts is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of her executive experience in other high-profile industries.

Randy Podolsky has served as a director of Cresco Labs since December 2016. He has served the entrepreneurial, corporate, institutional and not-for-profit commercial real estate clients for over 40 years and served as Managing Principal of his firm from 1986 to 2015. Now operating under the name of Riverwoods Development Partners, Mr. Podolsky provides personalized transaction and contract negotiation and advisory services to financial institutions, users, owners and not-for-profits for all facets of commercial real estate. Mr. Podolsky’s most recent project is developing Navy Pier Marina, a 100% transient marina at Navy Pier.

Mr. Podolsky recently served as a board member and chair of the real estate committee of the Waukegan Port District, which owns and operates Waukegan Harbor & Marina, the Port of Waukegan and Waukegan National Airport. During his tenure, Mr. Podolsky orchestrated the District’s bond refinance, increased the value of its real estate and derived income, spearheaded adoption of the Harbor Master Plan, and, most notably, negotiated the agreements for the District’s first marina use development by a private party in over four decades.  Additionally, he is a volunteer member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary since 1991 and served as the elected District Commodore (“DCO”) of the Ninth Western Region in 2009-2010.

Mr. Podolsky holds a B.A. degree from Loyola University. Cresco Labs believes Mr. Podolsky is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of his entrepreneurial business acumen and experience in the commercial real estate industry.

Robert Sampson has served as a director of Cresco Labs since May 2015. He has more than 20 years of operating experience in large business, including 12 years in the heavily regulated mortgage industry, having served as Chief Operating Officer at Guaranteed Rate, a retail mortgage bank. Mr. Sampson is currently Executive Vice President of Crosscountry Mortgage, a mortgage firm based in Cleveland.

As the former Chief Operating Officer of Cresco Labs, Mr. Sampson oversaw the construction of two, 40,000 square foot cement precast structures and one, 30,000 square foot hybrid greenhouse structure and was responsible for all facility operations and systems including the design and implementation of fertigation and irrigation systems, inventory control systems, compliance process procedures, audits, security and IT.

Mr. Sampson holds a B.S. degree from Aurora University and an A.A. degree from College of DuPage. Cresco Labs believes Mr. Sampson is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of his extensive operating experience in various industries.

John Walter has served as a director of Cresco Labs since March 2017. Mr. Walter is Chairman of Ashlin Management Company, a private investment and management services firm. He is the retired President and Chief Operating Officer of AT&T Corporation, a position he held from 1996 to 1997, and retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, a position he held from 1989 through 1996.

Mr. Walter also serves as a director of ecoAmerica and The Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Mr. Walter served as a Director of Manpower Inc. from 1998 to 2019 and served as Non-Executive Chairman of the company from 1999 to 2001. He previously served on the boards of other companies, including Innerworkings, Echo Global Logistics, VASCO Data Securities, Media Bank, LLC, Groupon, Deere & Company, Abbott Laboratories, Inc., AT&T Corporation, Target Corporation and Jones Lang LaSalle. Mr. Walter is on the Board of Trustees for Steppenwolf Theater, Northwestern University and The Naples Children & Education Foundation.

Mr. Walter holds a B.S. degree from Miami University. Cresco Labs believes Mr. Walter is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of his experience as an executive serving on boards of various corporations

Marc Lustig has served as a director of Cresco Labs since July 2020. He is the current Chairman of Trichome Financial Corp., Chairman of IMC Cannabis, and is a director of Pharmacielo Ltd. and Aequus Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Lustig was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cannabis Royalties & Holdings Corp. (“Origin House”), a leading distributor of cannabis products including its owned brands in California and other markets. Following the acquisition of Origin House by Cresco Labs in January 2020, Mr. Lustig oversaw capital markets activities for Cresco Labs, including executing on the company’s capital strategy, until he left such role in mid-2021. He was also responsible for managing relationships with Cresco Labs’ various capital markets stakeholders.

Mr. Lustig holds M.S. and M.B.A. degrees from McGill University. Cresco Labs believes Mr. Lustig is qualified to serve on the board of directors because of his capital markets expertise, specifically within the cannabis industry, as well as his extensive senior leadership experience.