Clever Leaves hires general counsel before going public

Multinational pharmaceutical-grade cannabis company Clever Leaves has appointed David Kastin as general counsel and corporate secretary.

In his new role, Kastin oversees the company’s global legal activities and policies while supporting the CEO and board as Clever Leaves prepares to become a public company.

Blank-check company Schultze Special Purpose Acquisition Corp (SAMA) earlier this month described a proposed business combination through which a newly formed holding company will acquire SAMA and Clever Leaves with the expectation of becoming a Nasdaq-listed public company.

Kastin was most recently general counsel and corporate secretary at The Vitamin Shoppe, a role in which he helped lead the privatization and sale of the business to the Franchise Group and led the regulatory guidance in launching the company’s first cannabidiol (CBD) product distribution in more than 30 US states.

Earlier in his career, Kastin was general counsel to the publicly traded owner and operator of US health and fitness clubs Town Sports International Holdings. As acting deputy general counsel and assistant secretary at Toys ‘R’ Us, he helped lead the sale of the company to two private equity firms and a real estate investment trust in a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout.

He has worked in private practice with firms including Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and began his career as an attorney with the SEC.

‘Given his unique experience within the CBD and health and wellness verticals, and recognizing his years spent working with the SEC, we know David will be a key asset to address the complex and diverse regulatory requirements of our business and industry,’ says Clever Leaves CEO Kyle Detwiler in a statement.

‘We welcome David to our team as we continue to expand operations, diversify our assets across various distribution channels and work toward closing our recently announced definitive business combination agreement with [SAMA] in the fourth quarter.’