Move Fast: Quick Decisions, Appetite for Risk are Cannabis CEO Requirements

When Ankur Rungta wanted to break into the cannabis industry, he didn’t study cultivation or extraction. <p>Instead, Rungta joined a top tier corporate law firm and later a Wall Street investment boutique where he sharpened his legal, finance and M&A chops.</p> <p>That gave him the expertise to launch Michigan-based C3 Industries, a vertically integrated cannabis company now in four states and going for more.</p> <p>But how did Rungta survive the challenges that finance and law couldn’t prepare him for in the cannabis industry?:</p> <ul> <li>Surrounded himself with top talent, including the former chief cultivator of Green Thumb Industries.</li> <li>Made quick decisions rather than dawdling when new opportunities arose.</li> <li>Focused on premium brands and found they did well even in saturated markets.</li> <li>Respected local cannabis cultures.</li> </ul>