TEAM
Leadership
Alan Pleskow
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
With 20+ years’ as a start-up entrepreneur, Alan brings leadership and operational experience and a track record of success to his role as Founder & CEO of Country Road Holdings. Alan also brings a wealth of transactional, capital markets and real estate experience that he garnered during his 25+ year legal career at leading international law firms. Most recently, Alan was a Principal Shareholder and member of the Real Estate Leadership and Intake committees at Greenberg Traurig.
Alan holds a B.A. (cum laude) and J.D. from the University of Buffalo.
Matt Ingber
Chief Operating Officer
Matt brings nearly 20 years of senior corporate and startup operating experience to Country Road Holdings from companies such as the Walt Disney Company, Warner Music Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts as well as leadership positions at startups in various industries. Matt has experience in strategic planning, business development, marketing and finance. Prior to joining Country Road Holdings, Matt was a co-founder of an organic beverage company.
Matt holds a B.S. in business from Syracuse University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Management.
Jeff Benesh
Sr. Director, Business Development
As a seasoned financial industry professional with 15 years of experience working in the global fixed income markets for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Silver Point Capital, Jeff brings high levels of capital markets and deal-making skills and experiences to Country Road Holdings. Most recently, Jeff was a high yield corporate credit trader on the Global Loans & Special Situations desk for Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London where he focused on several industries including the healthcare and automotive sectors.
Jeff holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from The Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
Senior Management
John Bjorn
Sales & Marketing
20+ years senior level executive experience leading multi-channel sales and distribution strategies for consumer products at Fortune 500 and early stage companies. John was also a CEO of a telecommunications company.
John holds a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University.
John Alberti
Head of Production
30+ years experience as construction industry executive. Founder of St. John’s Herbals, a tincture business that formulated, manufactured and distributed a variety of herbal formulations for retail.
Actively involved with several charitable organizations including the Wounded Warriors Project.
Chris Wheeler
Cannabis Operations
Significant cannabis industry experience managing retail stores in California and Nevada.
Dispensary manager at MedMen Enterprises with unfiltered view of consumer preferences and industry logistics. Most recently, district manager at Cookies, a cannabis company with cultivation, retail and manufacturing operations.
Advisors
Ron Stack
Marketing
Adjunct Instructor at Fairleigh Dickenson University, Co-founder of Zavee, LLC
B.A. (cum laude) Princeton, J.D. Vanderbilt University School of Law
Kyle Friedman, Esq.
Legal/Compliance
Lawyer at Younesi & Yoss in Irvine, California
B.A. University of California, Irvine, J.D. & L.L.M. (Tax) University of San Diego
Doug Pleskow, MD
Medical
Clinical Chief of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, MA and Asst. Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School
B.A. (cum laude) University of Rochester, M.D. University of Buffalo
Jeff Kendig
Cannabis Industry Strategist
Founder & President of Bravos Capital, a Cannabis Investment Firm
B.A. (cum laude) Middlebury College, MBA UCLA Anderson School of Mgmt.
Emmanuel Cargill
Beverage Industry Consultant
Senior Wine & Spirits Industry Executive, including Pernod Ricard USA
B.A. Burgundy Business School (France), MBA University of Memphis
Jane Turkewitz
Human Resources
Founder & President of Hi-Touch Executive Search
B.A. University of Michigan
Johnny Helms
Information Technology
Seasoned IT professional, Global Technology Lead at CSL Behring
B.A. NC State University, Masters, Information Systems,
Florida International University