Less than four years ago, high ranks in the cannabis industry were among the most female-friendly in the world, with women occupying 36 percent of C-Suite level positions – as per Marijuana Business Daily numbers for 2015. However, as time went by and the industry continued its upward trajectory, many women started to bump into the so-called “grass ceiling.”
“My co-founder [at MJFreeway] and I believed that tracking across the entire supply chain would be necessary to support the growth of the industry. We invented seed to sale tracking to drive product, public and patient safety.” “Leveraging my different skillsets and diversifying my business services has allowed me to get where I am today. I grew my company into the top 3 percent of women-owned businesses and secured ownership of multiple properties before making the decision to sell. My company was acquired by publicly traded Item 9 Labs Corp where I now serve as CEO,” she explained during a recent, exclusive conversation.
She later partnered with MPX Bioceuticals and became the COO. MPX was then acquired by iAnthus in a multi-million dollar transaction, and Stavola was named CSO of the parent company. “I truly believe that the people make the business, and my job is to create that culture in our business and the wider industry at large,” she said.Getting to the top is never easy. But making it as a woman is even harder.