Leah Heise

Leah Heise is an experienced executive, regulatory attorney and business innovator. As the Founder & CEO of Gemini Twin, she guides businesses, particularly those in highly regulated industries such as cannabis/hemp, psychedelics, and CPG, through complex issues including scaling, infrastructure, compliance, licensing, and IPOs – all while maintaining her personal mission of creating an inclusive environment for all.

She is most well known for her experience in the legal cannabis industry, where she was an integral part of the pioneering first wave of growth of regulated cannabis, from its origins as a legacy and activist-driven enterprise to a billion-dollar legal industry. An accomplished C-suite veteran, Leah’s previous positions include at Ascend Wellness Holdings (CAO), Women Grow (CEO), 4Front Ventures (CXO) and Chesapeake Integrated Health Institute (President). She has successfully exited four companies – two through acquisition, one which created a more than a 10x return for investors, and two through IPO. At Ascend, where she served as the Chief Administrative Officer, Leah’s focus on building scalable infrastructure assisted the company to grow its human resources from 73 employees to more than 1300 in less than 18 months, and from $19M in revenue in 2019 to a $1.6B market cap on IPO in May of 2021.

Before she became an industry leader, Leah was introduced to the cannabis industry as a patient. In the midst of a successful career as an attorney dealing with commercial fisheries, she was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a debilitating illness that can be fatal. After over 35 hospitalizations and the loss of her health and the ability to work, in 2015 Leah’s doctor suggested she try cannabis to reduce the inflammation and ease the pain, and the results were nothing less than life-changing. Not only did this plant medicine allow her the freedom and good health to live and work, but understood the industry around cannabis that was already developing in the US and around the world. In the years since she started using cannabis, she has only been hospitalized once with complications from pancreatitis, and her doctors remain enthusiastic about her body’s response to the plant.

Leah also serves as a Constellation advisor to Kearney, a top tier CPG and transformative management consulting firm interested in bringing their operational expertise to cannabis, and just partnered with AnnaRae Grabstein and Wolf Meyer on the West Coast. Additionally, she is also a Strategic Advisor and part owner in Safe Arbor (a pre-market contactless delivery system) and ProCanna (a software platform providing compliant, operational efficiencies to the industry). She also volunteers for Athletes for Care, Rylie’s Smile and ATACH’s White House Task Force on Cannabis and Hemp. When Leah isn’t working, she loves to travel, hike, sing, sketch, read – and keeps promising herself that she will start doing yoga again.