Management Team

Mr. Sandelman is a 30-year veteran of banking and finance, with a history of generating shareholder value. He served as president of Bank of America Securities after building its capital markets businesses through the early 2000s, building Bank of America beyond its roots as a consumer and corporate lender, and subsequently founded and served as CEO of the multi-billion dollar asset manager Sandelman Partners.

David Goubert is President of Ayr Wellness and is responsible for overseeing the Company’s operational and commercial functions, including production, supply chain, retail, wholesale and marketing. Mr. Goubert joined Ayr from Neiman Marcus Group, one of the largest multi-brand retailers in the United States, where he helped lead the company through a transformation into one of the strongest retailers in the country. Most recently, he served as NMG’s President and Chief Customer Officer, where he was responsible for the full P&L of the Neiman Marcus brand as well as all customer touchpoints. Prior to joining Neiman Marcus, Mr. Goubert spent 20 years at LVMH, the world’s leading luxury consumer-products company. At LVMH, David served in a variety of capacities, including Senior Vice President of LVMH’s Starboard Cruise Services subsidiary and 15 years leading manufacturing, supply chain, retail and general management at the company’s flagship Louis Vuitton brand.

Brad Asher is an accomplished finance and accounting professional with unique cross-sector experience spanning financial institutions to tech start-ups. He previously served as the controller for Ayr, where he was instrumental in implementing the necessary software and financial controls to drive efficiencies across the company’s portfolio of businesses. Prior to Ayr, he was the vice president controller at a global ad-tech company. Asher began his career at KPMG, where he led teams across multiple sectors.

Ms. Drake is a proven business leader in both large blue chip institutions and at lean start-ups. A former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs with extensive M&A experience, Ms. Drake institutionalized the businesses of several multi-billion dollar asset management firms, ensuring compliance within complex regulatory frameworks and creating a foundation for accelerated growth.

Anya Varga is a renowned human resources professional with nearly 20 years of progressive HR leadership experience focused on connecting organizational strategy with talent priorities in high change, rapid growth environments. As Ayr’s Chief People Officer, Anya oversees the company’s Human Resources department and executes on strategic initiatives designed to attract, develop, and retain talent across the rapidly growing organization.

Before starting at Ayr in November 2021, Anya served as Senior Vice President of People at LVMH’s Starboard Cruise Services division, where she worked alongside the executive team to establish a high performing organizational culture and develop a new retail strategy for increased profitability. She additionally holds certifications for Parts 1 & 2 of the Coaches Training Institute (CTI)’s Program for Co-Active Coaching.

Mr. Mendola has nearly 20 years of experience as a public and private equity investor and has been an active investor in the cannabis industry. Prior to joining Ayr, he was the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Pacific Grove Capital, a hedge fund focused primarily on investments in consumer, cannabis, technology and payments. Pacific Grove was named the best new hedge fund by Hedge Funds Review in 2015 and Jamie received accolades from Institutional Investor as a Hedge Fund Rising Star.

Prior to founding Pacific Grove in 2014, Jamie was a Partner at Scout Capital, a Principal at Watershed Asset Management, an Analyst at JLL Partners and an Analyst at J.P. Morgan. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and B.S. in Management from Binghamton University.