Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. announced key leadership appointments, including: The appointment of Chris Holzer as Chief of Operations; The appointment of Denise Pedulla as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary; and The promotion of Rebecca Koar to Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategy. Chris Holzer, Chief of Operations, Bio: Chris Holzer joined AWH as Chief of Operations in 2023. Mr. Holzer comes to AWH most recently from Bayer Crop Science where he held the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Quality Product Supply, Seeds &Chemistry.

Previously, Chris spent almost 15 years with Syngenta in both domestic and international assignments of increasing responsibility across roles focused on vegetable crops. Mr. Holzer brings a deep love of agriculture and experience in providing leadership in plant touching businesses. He has managed plant growth (greenhouse and open field) for seed production, yield, and quality with strict environmental controls.

He also has experience working within regulated frameworks, while leveraging R&D and automation to build scale. In addition to his specific experiences in manufacturing, production, and supply chain, he is a culture builder and understands that leadership starts on the floor. Continuous improvement is important to Mr. Holzer, as he started his career with early roles as a process engineer and site manager in agrochemical and distillation businesses.He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arkansas and he holds postgraduate certifications in Process Business Management from the University of Warwick and Global Production &Supply from INSEAD.

Denise Pedulla, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Bio: Denise Pedulla joined AWH in 2023 as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. She joined AWH most recently from Conformis, Inc. where she was responsible for the legal, compliance, and governance functions in the medical/healthcare space. Previously, she held top roles in her 30-year career in both legal and compliance for public, private, and in-house counsel settings.

Ms. Pedulla brings deep experience in providing leadership and cross-functional legal services to global life sciences companies. Many, if not all, of her past experiences are relevant for AWH, including mergers and acquisitions, working with federal and state regulatory enforcement agencies, effectively managing outside counsel, and experience serving as corporate secretary for public companies, and, earlier in her career as a registered nurse. Ms. Pedulla received her JD from Suffolk University and a Master of Public Health from Harvard University.

Rebecca Koar, Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategy, Bio: Rebecca Koar joined AWH as Head of Investor Relations in June 2021. She currently serves as Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategy. She previously also held the role of Corporate Secretary.

Ms. Koar has 12+ years of professional experience spanning Mergers &Acquisitions, Corporate Strategy, Investor Relations, and Venture Capital at both public and private companies. She has held progressive leadership positions at Verizon, Covanta Energy, Conduent, and Golden Seeds. She has produced quarterly earnings communications for nearly 20 quarters, participated in over 30 completed acquisition processes, developed comprehensive corporate strategies for 3 companies, and participated in the evaluation of hundreds of venture offerings.

At AWH, Ms. Koar is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of investor programs, messaging, and activities, as well as near- and long-term corporate strategy initiatives. She also serves as Chair of the Editorial Committee for the National Investor Relations Institute's IR Update Magazine. Prior to her professional work, Ms. Koar graduated with a B.S. from the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Sciences with concentrations in Materials Science, Engineering Business, and Applied Math.