Colby McKenzie and Paul Rosen Join KEY Investment Partners as US Cannabis Market Heats Up After 2020 Election

DENVER, Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KEY Investment Partners LLC ("KEY") announced today the addition of Colby McKenzie, Co-Founder of Enlighten, as Strategic Advisor to the firm. KEY also welcomes Paul Rosen, Co-Founder and former CEO of Cronos Group, to its Advisory Board. KEY Investment Partners is a Denver, CO based investment manager focused on providing growth capital to early-stage companies in the cannabis sector. Colby & Paul join the team shortly after four US states (New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota) legalize adult-use cannabis on November 3^rd, 2020 – a historic day for the industry.

Colby McKenzie brings robust cannabis operational experience and M&A expertise to the KEY team. Colby spent the last four years running the canntech company Enlighten, growing the company into a leading marketing technology business in the cannabis space with over 1,200 customers in the US and Canada. Colby started his career as a private equity attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges before founding a private equity fund, McKenzie Ventures, where he focused on hands-on, strategic growth initiatives for early stage businesses in his portfolio.

"Investing in an industry as dynamic as the cannabis industry can be tricky.  However, I had a firsthand look as a cannabis operator at the KEY team's rigorous approach to diligence and meticulous detail in assessing product market fit, and felt immediately aligned with their strategy and approach to cannabis investing," said Colby McKenzie. 

Paul Rosen is a noted career entrepreneur, management consultant and public speaker. Over the last 8 years he has become one of the most active entrepreneurs, advisors, and investors in the emerging cannabis industry. Paul was a Co-Founder of PharmaCan Capital Corp., eventually rebranded as Cronos Group and served as its first President and CEO. Cronos Group is one of the largest cannabis companies in the world, with a market cap of over $2bn as of 11/02/20. Paul has held board positions with several publicly traded cannabis companies, and serves as the Executive Chairman of Global Go, an advisory firm focused on the global regulated cannabis industry. Paul remains actively involved in several other cannabis businesses today.

"I am thrilled to join the advisory board of KEY Investment Partners. I have been consistently impressed by the thoughtfulness and the rigorous process that the team at KEY Investments undertakes for each of their investment opportunities. I am excited to be able to play a role in helping KEY Investment Partners become one of the most respected high performing funds operating within the legal regulated American cannabis industry," said Paul Rosen.

Rosen joins existing Advisory Board members John Martin, Co-Founder and retired CEO of Antares Capital, Mike Hartman, former head of Canopy Growth's US THC expansion strategy, Brent Johnson, CEO of Hoban Law, Sarah Gersten, the General Counsel of The Last Prisoner Project, Earl Gallegos, the Founder of Earl Gallegos Management and Roy Bingham, the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of KEY portfolio company BDSA.

About KEY Investment Partners LLC:

KEY Investment Partners is an investment management firm focused on providing growth capital to early-stage cannabis companies. The firm invests opportunistically across all sub-sectors of the cannabis industry, with the intent of identifying high-growth, market-leading companies that are backed by exceptional management teams. Karabas, Erdely and Youkilis co-founded KEY after the three worked together at the Swiss-based private equity firm Partner's Group AG (SIX: PGHN) for several years. The team has over 24 years of combined investment management experience at institutions such as Partners Group, Goldman Sachs, and GE Capital, where they invested on behalf of some of the largest pension funds and endowments in the world. KEY is headquartered in Denver, CO - the most established and mature legal cannabis market in the US - positioning the firm at the forefront of the most exciting trends and developments in the space.

About Enlighten:

Enlighten is a leading cannatech company that specializes in retail and marketing solutions. Through its SMARTHUB ecosystem, Enlighten powers intelligent tools to reach various consumer touchpoints. Whether it's managing the customer retail experience or leveraging tools to plan, execute or measure marketing campaigns, Enlighten has a best in class suite of products and services, including an ad network, POS-integrated content management system, ordering platform, hardware and software.

About Cronos Group:

Cronos Group is an innovative global cannabinoid company with international production and distribution across five continents. Cronos Group is committed to building disruptive intellectual property by advancing cannabis research, technology and product development. With a passion to responsibly elevate the consumer experience, Cronos Group is building an iconic brand portfolio. Cronos Group's portfolio includes PEACE NATURALS™, a global wellness platform, two adult-use brands, COVE™ and Spinach™, and three hemp-derived CBD brands, Lord Jones™, Happy Dance™ and PEACE+™. For more information about Cronos Group and its brands, please visit: www.thecronosgroup.com.

SOURCE KEY Investment Partners