High Times Holdings CEO and President Kraig Fox is out less than a year after being hired and he’s been replaced by Stormy Simon, the former president of Overstock.com and one of the company’s independent directors.
Fox, who had previously served as a senior managing director of Guggenheim Partners and founder and CEO of Core Media, was hired in April; his resignation was effective on December 24.
Simon, who worked at Overstock.com for 15 years, hinted at a potential business shift for the long-running media company – cannabis distribution.
“The cost of customer acquisition has plagued the cannabis industry thus far, but utilizing the High Times brand’s global audience, we should be able to monetize our traffic by connecting consumers to cannabis products at an unprecedented scale. Like millions of other people, I have trusted High Times for years and I can’t wait to use my experience to help develop the next iteration of our business: delivering the best products into consumers’ hands.” – Simon, in a statement
Adam Levin, who will remain in his role as executive director following the shakeup, said during Simon’s tenure at Overstock.com she increased revenues from $20 million to over $2 billion.
“Stormy Simon, who rose through the ranks at Overstock.com during her 15-year tenure with the company, has extensive international business relations and marketing experience and is highly skilled at breaking down and rebuilding departments,” Levin said in a statement.
Simon will earn $300,000 per year in the new role; however, that base salary will be fixed at $215,000 at the onset until the company has raised an additional $10 million, after which Simon will be paid the remainder. Additionally, Simon can earn an additional $225,000 in annual performance bonuses and purchase up to 200,000 shares of common stock at $11.00 per share.
Last month in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operations due to “recurring operating losses, net operating cash flow deficits, and an accumulated deficit.”
In the report, Hightimes Holding had a net loss of $11.9 million on revenue of $10.7 million for the six months ending on June 30, 2019, along with $105.2 million in debts.
In late October, the cash-strapped company laid off the majority of DOPE Magazine’s Seattle, Washington editorial team, which Fox at the time called a “strategic decision.” High Times acquired DOPE last year for $11.2 million. In addition to DOPE, High Times also purchased Green Rush Daily and CULTURE magazine last year for $7 million and $4 million, respectively.
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