LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, INC. (OTCPink:PNPL) (the “Company”), a publicly traded company that offers consulting, technology, investments, turn-key property rentals and branding concepts to businesses in the legal cannabis industry, today explained the roles and responsibilities of its CEO, VP of Business Development, Interim CFO, and Chief Compliance Officer.
The Company’s key personnel are as follows:
CEO & Chairman of the Board - Matthew Feinstein, a founder of the Company, has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since 2013. At Pineapple Express, he manages sourcing investment opportunities, joint venture relationships, and identifies acquisition targets.
He is also responsible for ensuring that the various components of the Company’s portfolio either have or develop the necessary infrastructure to support the Company’s future branded chain of cannabis retail stores, cultivation centers, processing facilities, and products.
Prior to forming Pineapple Express, Mr. Feinstein was Vice President and a board member of a publicly traded ancillary service provider to the cannabis industry, where he was responsible for developing client relationships and assisting clients throughout the licensing process for canna-businesses. After securing his clients their licenses, Mr. Feinstein would manage the process of site selection, buildout, and training for each client. Mr. Feinstein has assisted clients in securing their cannabis dispensary licenses in Nevada, California, Washington, Oregon, and Illinois.
He has more than 25 years of experience in consumer product manufacturing, distribution, and national retail operations, having served as Director of Technical Service Operations at MinuteKey from 2011 to 2012; Operational Supervisor at Redbox from 2009 to 2011; President and Founder of Starlight Home Entertainment, a leading independent DVD sales, marketing, and distribution company from 2001 to 2008; Managing Director of Consumer Services at urbanfetch from 1999 to 2000; and Vice President of Franchisor Military Rent-All and Marbles Entertainment retail chains from 1991 to 1999.
Mr. Feinstein earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science in 1991 from the University of California, Berkeley.
VP of Business Development - Theresa Flynt joined the Company as VP of Business Development in 2015. She oversees the development of new and existing consulting businesses, in addition to assisting the Company in its licensing and branding efforts. Ms. Flynt has over 20 years of experience in operations, management, marketing, licensing, and development.
Prior to joining Pineapple Express, Ms. Flynt spent 21 years working at Hustler in various roles. She started in Hustler’s publishing division. She went on to oversee the design, building and day-to-day operations of Hustler Hollywood, a retail powerhouse with 15 locations nationwide. She later moved on to becoming Hustler’s Executive Vice President of Retail Operations, VP of Licensing and Brand Development and, then, Chief Marketing Officer.
Ms. Flynt earned her undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Marketing and Management from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, CA. She has also served on the boards of FSC (Free Speech Coalition), ASACP (Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection), and FMG (Flynt Management Group for the brand Hustler).
Interim CFO – Sean Cunningham joined the Company as Interim CFO in 2016. Mr. Cunningham’s first involvement in the cannabis industry is with Pineapple Express. He is responsible for the financial and accounting operations of the Company. In addition, he oversees the development of Pineapple Park, the 10.08-acre cultivation complex project in Desert Hot Springs, California.
Mr. Cunningham has substantial expertise and real-world experience in the finance and accounting required for the development of various mixed-use commercial real estate projects. Prior to joining Pineapple Express, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Pacific Equity Properties, Inc., a real estate investment and development company, from 2007 to 2016, where he sourced and cultivated the acquisition of a $170MM asset in Malibu, California comprised of a 112,000 square foot mixed-use ground-up development on 12.5 acres of land. In addition, he handled all financial and operational aspects of the development and management of a $150MM asset in Tarzana, California comprised of a new 250,000 square foot ground-up development.
Mr. Cunningham has over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting. Prior to his tenure at Pacific Equity Properties, Inc., he served as the Corporate Controller of Global Entertainment Partners, a full-service Post Production facility, from 2003 to 2007; a real estate accountant at CPG Accounting from 1997 to 2003; and as a project accountant at La Mancha Development / CBM from 1989 to 1997.
Chief Compliance Officer & Director
Christopher Plummer joined the Company in 2015. As Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. Plummer is responsible for ensuring that the Company complies with the regulatory requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA and state securities agencies. He regularly interacts with the Company’s advisors, outside counsel, management, consultants, and staff in regards to all matters related to compliance with securities laws, rules and regulations.
Mr. Plummer has more than 16 years of experience in the securities and advisory compliance field. Throughout his career, he has provided valuable compliance oversight to firms engaged in proprietary trading, structured finance, private equity, institutional and retail brokerage and hedge funds. He has implemented compliance programs for both public and private companies.
Previously, Mr. Plummer served as VP and Compliance Officer of Hudson Advisors, the advisor to the Lone Star Funds, from 2012 to 2015. At Hudson Advisors Mr. Plummer was responsible for the firm’s global anti-money laundering oversight program and aided in the review and filing of the company’s various SEC form filings. Mr. Plummer served as a Compliance Manager at the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company in 2012; Corporate Compliance Officer at RAIT Financial Trust and Chief Compliance Officer for several RAIT subsidiaries from 2005 to 2011; Institutional Compliance Manager at Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. from 2004-2005; Compliance Analyst at Susquehanna International Group, LLP (SIG) from 2000-2002; and an Options Investigator at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange from 1998 to 2000.
He earned dual undergraduate degrees in Economics and Finance in 1998 from West Chester University. Mr. Plummer joined the United States Marine Corps in 1996 and served as Logistics and Embarkation NCO for Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 14th Marines in Philadelphia until 2004.
“We are very proud of the dynamic team we have assembled at Pineapple Express,” stated CEO Matthew Feinstein. “I also wanted to mention Vincent Mehdizadeh, who is a technology consultant for the Company and inventor of the ‘Top-Shelf’ inventory management display counter and safe. Mr. Mehdizadeh continues to develop that groundbreaking invention exclusively for Pineapple Express with an anticipated launch date of Q2 2016. We plan on debuting the technology with our dispensary consulting client Nature’s Treatment of Illinois.”
Mr. Mehdizadeh is solely a consultant for the Company. A corporate entity owned by Mr. Mehdizadeh is the sole lifetime beneficiary of a trust that beneficially owns approximately 59% of the Company’s common stock. The trust is professionally managed by a licensed fiduciary as Trustee and a law firm acting as Trust Protector. Mr. Mehdizadeh has no decision-making abilities on behalf of the Company with respect to the Pineapple Express shares held by the trust or on behalf of the trust with respect to the trust’s management or investment decisions.
About Pineapple Express
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, Pineapple Express is a publicly traded company that invests in, expands, and brands existing and newly established canna-businesses through expert consulting and cutting-edge technology. We provide capital to our canna-business clientele, lease real properties to canna-businesses, and provide consulting and technology to operators within the cannabis industry. We intend to create a nationally branded chain of company-owned cannabis retail stores under the "Pineapple Express" name, as soon as federal laws allow. As long as cannabis remains federally illegal, our operations will be limited to consulting, product licensing, leasing to and investing in existing and new canna-businesses, selling industry specific technology and branding/retail concept support services. Home to some of the most experienced and well-connected minds in the business, Pineapple Express is at the forefront of the legal cannabis industry.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not a description of historical facts constitute forward-looking statements and may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "potential", "possible", "probable", "believes", "seeks", "may", "will", "should", "could" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including that we have a limited operating history, are dependent upon key personnel whose loss may adversely impact our business, and some of our business activities and the business activities of some of our customers and counterparties, while believed to be compliant with applicable state law, may be illegal under federal law because they violate the Federal Controlled Substances Act. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. More detailed information about the Company is available at www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PNPL/quote. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.