Ed Schwarz

Experience

• 

  The Broadmoor

  Jun 2002 - Oct 2005

  Cook
• 

  Best Buy

  Oct 2005 - May 2006

  Home Theater Specialist
• 

  Sysco

  May 2008 - Mar 2009

  Marketing Associate

  Achieved company highest year-over-year sales increase in first 3 months as Marketing Associate. Started a "house label" product cutting program that increased sales of those products by over 20%. First Sales intern ever hired and youngest Marketing Associate ever hired in company history.

• 

  Sysco

  Jun 2009 - Oct 2009

  Marketing Associate
• 

  GHS LLC dba Mangia Ganja

  Mar 2010 - May 2011

  Director of Sales and R&D

  Led research and development operations which created many innovative products and methods. Created and controlled execution of multiple different sales methods with team of 5 salespeople.

• 

  Whole Foods Market

  Mar 2011 - Mar 2013

  Prepared Foods

  Created, developed, and executed unique prepared foods program that lowered product margin loss across the entire store. Program was adopted by the entire region.

• 

  The Clinic Colorado

  Jan 2013 - Jan 2016

  Created and revised multiple company documents, SOPs, and training manuals. Helped increase throughput of processing operation over 75% in less than a year. Nominated for Employee of the Month 3 times; received award June 2014. Participated in creation and revision of multiple company documents, SOPs, and training manuals. Heavily involved in inventory control and creating procedures & BI reports to assist in those functions.

  • Manufacturing Manager

    May 2015 - Jan 2016

  • Retail Manager

    Jan 2013 - May 2015
• 

  MJ Freeway

  Feb 2016 - Nov 2017

  Served as a consultant and project manager to new and established cannabis businesses throughout North America, successfully navigating multiple complex, strict regulatory environments. Built out and expanded facilities, streamlined business processes, implemented ERP software onsite for marquee clients, and developed business & financial plans and SOPs across the cannabis industry. Project managed application receiving 1 of only 5 vertically-integrated permits for all of Pennsylvania, out of hundreds of applicants. Directed business operations of company during cyber security disaster. Show less

  • Senior Solutions Engineer

    Sept 2017 - Nov 2017

  • Operations Consultant

    Jul 2016 - Nov 2017

  • Support Team Lead

    Feb 2016 - Sept 2016
• 

  Inclusive Cannabis

  Mar 2018 - Apr 2020

  Co-Founder & COO

  Cannabis Management Consulting and Marketing firm with 3 FTEs and over a dozen contractors providing services to industry leaders like High Times, Sensi, Genius Fund, Project Cannabis, Chronic Pain Releaf Center, California Cannabis Testing Labs, and the Weed for Warriors Project.Also provided due diligence, license application writing, and consulting services for a heavily-funded private equity firm that focused its investments in cannabis and cannabis ancillary businesses. Successfully acquired 5 retail licenses in Southern California, and reviewed operations and finances of over $2bn in term/ask sheets. Show less

• 

  Blunt Talks

  Mar 2019 - Dec 2019

  Director of Staging & Event Technology

  Championed production changes that garnered a 400% increase in attendance of events in less than 3 months.

• 

  CHRONIC PAIN RELEAF CENTER, LLC

  Sept 2020 - Mar 2021

  Director of IT

  Led rebuild of website and e-commerce strategy. Standardized IT practices across company. Rebuilt and administered network and phone system. Implemented changes and partnerships that led to over 1,000% YoY increase in Google Reviews with complimentary SEO increase.

• 

  BLAZE

  Mar 2021 - now

  • Managed strategic relationships with major cannabis operators, overseeing the top 30% of BLAZE's book of business in the USA.• Contributed to maintaining a 99% CSAT rating and achieving 0% churn, outperforming the team's average churn rate.• Successfully upsold multiple clients, increasing their Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by 50% or more. • Directed Retail product strategy and lifecycle management, integrating advanced technology features to optimize the cannabis retail experience.• Contributed to performance metrics that boosted operational efficiency and user engagement.• Collaborated with other product managers and teams to achieve overall company product goals including launch of brand new cross-platform Point of Sale application. • Developed and executed product strategies at BLAZE, resulting in significant gains in platform functionality and customer satisfaction.• Launched a customer feedback tool that increased collaboration with clients and led to higher customer satisfaction.

  • Senior Enterprise Account Manager

    Jun 2023 - now

  • Group Product Manager

    Oct 2022 - Jun 2023

  • Product Manager

    Mar 2021 - Oct 2022