Mr. Mitch Baruchowitz

Mr. Mitch Baruchowitz

Managing Partner, Merida Capital Partners

Mr. Baruchowitz has nine years of experience in the legal cannabis industry and is considered a national expert in the diverse licensing regimes governing each state. His cannabis career began in assisting Colorado-based legal cultivators to structure state compliant capital transactions and analyzing the legal cannabis market in order to develop an optimal business strategy for their operations. After several years of work with Colorado companies, he co-founded Theraplant, LLC  where he architected the highest scoring application in Connecticut’s highly selective licensing process. In 2014, he cofounded LeafLine Labs, LLC, which was one of only two Minnesota companies to win a license to cultivate and dispense cannabis in extracted form. Mr. Baruchowitz is also a founder of Maryland-based Grow West MD, one of 15 companies selected for a cultivation and dispensing license. He has also founded a Pennsylvania-based cultivator that is in the pre-operational licensing stage.

Overall, Mr. Baruchowitz has approximately 20 years of experience in the legal and finance fields. He is the former Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of publicly traded MarketAxess. He was also the General Counsel of investment banking boutique Pali Capital, which had revenues of nearly $200 million and 200 employees when he was appointed in late 2009 by the Board to lead the restructuring and wind-down of the company. Since 2010, he has led numerous public and private offerings, assisted in the formation and funding of several credit funds and a $60 million REIT while the Head of Investment Banking of ACGM, Inc. and at Cavu Securities.

Mr. Baruchowitz is a graduate of Brandeis University and Boston University School of Law. He is a member of the New York and Massachusetts Bars and holds FINRA 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses. He currently sits on the Boards of New Frontier Data and Manna Molecular Sciences.