22nd Century Group, Inc. announced the appointment of Lawrence (Larry) Firestone as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Firestone brings over 40 years of enterprise, operations, and financial management experience in both public and private companies, including tenures as CEO, CFO and COO across multiple industry sectors. Mr. Firestone most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Oakland Manager, a privately-held purveyor of cannabis with both retail and wholesale market penetration, and as Chairman of FirePower Technology, a privately held manufacturer of ATX power supplies for the IT and instrumentation markets.

In the public company sector, Mr. Firestone has served as Chief Executive Officer of Eastside Distilling, Inc. Chief Executive Officer of Qualstar Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of Advanced Energy Industries, and Chief Financial Officer of Applied Films Corporation . He has served on numerous boards, including those of Eastside Distilling, Qualstar, CVD Equipment Corporation, Amtech Systems, Inc. and HyperSpace Communications, Inc. Mr. Firestone received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.