LOS ANGELES, March 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, INC. (OTCPink:PNPL) (the “Company”), a publicly traded company that offers cannabis industry consulting, technology, investments, turn-key property rentals, and branding concepts to businesses in the legal cannabis industry, announced today that it has hired Sean Cunningham as interim Chief Financial Officer for Pineapple Express, Inc. Cunningham replaces Matthew Feinstein, the company’s CEO, President, and Chairman, who will step down from the position of interim CFO on March 15th, 2016. Mr. Feinstein will continue to serve as CEO, President, and Chairman of the company. Mr. Cunningham will be interim CFO for a 90-day trial period starting March 15th, 2016. The Company intends to transition Mr. Cunningham to fill the position of CFO on a permanent basis, thereafter.
Some of Mr. Cunningham’s career highlights are as follows:
- Sourced and cultivated the acquisition of a $170M asset in Malibu, California comprised of a 112,000 SF mixed-use ground-up development on 12½ acres of land. Represented ownership at the monthly stakeholders meetings, as well as the City planning and Council office hearings.
- Hands-on approach to all aspects of both financial and operational, of the development and management of a $150M asset in Tarzana, California comprised of a new 250,000 SF ground-up development project.
- Managed and operated a portfolio of stabilized commercial assets in excess of $300M which included contract negotiations, financing, leasing, budgets and cash flows, and hands on knowledge of all operational matters.
- Established, sourced and maintained various lending relationships to secure more than $200M in financing from traditional banks, non-traditional lenders, institutional investors and private equity in the form of bridge, mezzanine, construction and permanent financing.
- Interfaced with institutional investors, external auditors, lender inspections and has spearheaded monthly fund reporting requirements, negotiated construction contracts and led discussions with external financial entities on matters such as acquisitions, debt financing, leasing, budgets and cash flow analysis.
- Managed corporate office matters such as financial operations, treasury, FP&A, KPI, credit and risk management as well as improved and streamlined internal accounting processes, systems and internal controls.
- Led efforts in the planning for ownership, including audit and tax activities for corporations, partnerships, LLC’s and individuals and has led the preparation and filing of more than 150 tax returns.
“We feel this addition dovetails nicely with our recent undertaking of the ‘Pineapple Park’ development project in Desert Hot Springs, California,” stated Matthew Feinstein, Chief Executive Officer at Pineapple Express. “As an experienced CFO of real estate development companies, he brings a mix of skills and know-how to the company that are very timely for our stage of growth.”
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.