Our Team

Rich Cardinal

Managing Director

The Man with the Plan

As Founding Partner and Managing Director of Next Big Crop, Rich Cardinal puts his passions for problem-solving and plant cultivation to good use for each and every client.

“My goal is to help everyone succeed through the inevitable growing pains that come with all components of cannabis, such as lowering production costs and leveraging state-of-the-art systems,” Rich says. “My take is that even if something seems status quo and people have been doing it for five years, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best way to do it, so I love to take a step back and work with the team to brainstorm top ways to tackle it, and then collectively come up with the most creative approach for reaching the best possible outcome. It’s so rewarding to pop back into an operation that we were instrumental in launching and see everything working smoothly.”

Rob Hansen

Operations Manager

Mr Service with a Smile

Rob Hansen believes in starting at the ground floor of any endeavor in order to truly understand it, which has given him significant insights into all of the aspects of creating a cannabis company from the bottom up. “You need to know the back of the house so you can succeed at the front of the house,” Rob says. “I don’t ever want to be that guy who just comes in and calls himself a ‘consultant’ without having walked the walk, so I think it’s important to pay your dues so that when you evolve at a company, you understand it inside and out.”

It’s no surprise, then, that Rob’s background in hospitality — particularly at the Four Seasons, where he gained an appreciation for developing smart onboarding processes and how the experience is what people remember — has been instrumental in helping him help the cannabis industry, from developing solid SOPs and addressing labor issues to savvy scheduling and efficient workflow. He started in the grow facility when he first joined the Next Big Crop team in 2016, moving lights around and learning about things like nutrient composition and how facility setup can affect outcomes, before moving into the Director of Compliance role, where he developed comprehensive programs unique to each facility type on a state and local basis. More recently, he was named Operations Manager, managing the day-to-day workings of the design team and assisting in ensuring that cultivations, processors and dispensaries adhere to regulations and exceed requirements.

His time in the hospitality industry also gave him an appreciation for the finer things in life, and so when he can — which is trickier now that he has a 6-month-old — he likes to stay in fancy hotels and explore exotic locales. “I’ve been lucky enough to check out some amazing places all through Europe, and Tel Aviv was amazing, but I still have a lot of places on my bucket list,” he says. “Asia, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Bali, Myanmar are all on my list right now.” Born in New York, Rob grew up primarily in Connecticut; he holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Endicott College certifications from ASTM, Metrc, iComply, OSHA and GAP.

“Four Seasons taught me how to always reach for being the best,” Rob says. “Never settle, never become complacent, and gain a thorough understanding of your competitors so you know how to separate yourself from them. The cannabis industry needs to get better at that, and that’s something I’m really interested in exploring with our clients.”

Christian Phelps

Director of Business Development

The Efficiency Expert

Christian learned early on in his career that taking risks can sometimes lead to big payoffs, but the key is maintaining balance and striving for the greatest efficiency possible. “Understanding business dynamics is at the heart of what I’m trying to do,” Christian says. “My goal is always to squeeze as much juice out of whatever piece of fruit we’ve got, and just generally address our efficiency wherever possible, so that we can be the best versions of ourselves individually and as a company.”

Christian grew up in Upstate New York and moved to Colorado after graduating from Syracuse University. “My passion for the outdoors is what brought me here, and the relationships I have built since moving to Denver are keeping me from going anywhere else,” he says.

He started in business development, holding positions at a Staples subsidiary, Quill.com, before becoming a licensed Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, where he managed private assets for two years. In 2017, General Cannabis brought him aboard to assist the Finance Department with internal financial reporting, investor relations, SEC reporting, capital raises and IT infrastructure. Next Big Crop scored Christian in 2019 when he joined the team as the Director of Business Development, which will involve many of the skills he offered at General Cannabis, along with building out financial models for clients, centralizing the delivery of contracts and scopes of work, and more sales. “This is really interesting, because I love evaluating deals and increasing profit margins,” Christian says.

Christian approaches his personal life the same way, looking for places where he can increase his fun margin, too. He loves to cook and drink craft beer, and being outdoors is big on his priority list. He also enjoys hiking, biking, skiing and golf; and spends as much time with his fiancée and pup, Marley, as he can.

Clay Brier

Project Manager

The Glue That Holds It Together

With his combined analytical finance background, strong information technology skills and operations experience in nearly every aspect of cannabis — from cultivation and quality control to sales and marketing — Clay has become a master at converting our clients’ big-picture visions into manageable step-by-step pieces for seamless navigation through the ever-changing and rapidly expanding cannabis universe.

Clay joined Next Big Crop in 2015, on the heels of serving as the Director of Systems and Compliance for a 42,000-square-foot greenhouse, warehouse and associated dispensaries. His current role as Project Manager includes coordinating, implementing and monitoring NBC game plans, including managing budgets and allocating resources, along with writing (and winning) applications for every type of license, building cultivation facilities and dispensaries, training employees, implementing critical systems and standardizing processes nationwide. He draws frequently from his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations from Western Connecticut State University, as well as a decade of experience in IT, operations, marketing and sales.

When he’s not waving his sorcerer’s wand around to magically bring order to the cannabis cosmos, Clay can be found mountain biking in the summer — his fave trail: the gnarly alpine joys of Moab’s Whole Enchilada, with its 35 miles and 6,000-foot elevation gain — or in the winter, skiing inbounds at Beaver Creek or in the backcountry making fresh tracks. “I moved to Colorado to be a ski bum and wound up falling in love with the cannabis industry, and it just snowballed from there,” he says. “There’s no question that I’m living the dream.”

Mali Sanati

Director of Sales

The Marketing Maven

Sales is about people, and Mali Sanati loves that. “There’s always something new and fascinating happening every single day,” Mali says. “This is such a fun environment, and that makes it easy to connect with people and form solid, lasting relationships. I’m just constantly amazed at how many really interesting people there are in the cannabis world.”

Mali joined Next Big Crop in April of 2019 as Director of Sales, after five years of specializing in software and media sales, including two years with Marijuana Business Daily. She also launched LeafLink — a software ecommerce platform serving the wholesale cannabis marketplace — in 11 states while also hiring and training and managing the inside sales team and increasing market share and profitability. Originally from Iran, she also has lived in Australia, and she speaks fluent Farsi and English, as well as conversational Arabic and Korean, the latter from her time in South Korea earning a master’s degree in International Development and Cooperation.

Travel is high on the family to-do list, but after a long day of making connections, Mali says she loves to unwind with a good book. “I have a 6-year-old, so that doesn’t really leave much downtime, but yoga is something I do for myself, along with some good fiction,” she says. “Recently I’ve been reading more books that can help with sales, but that’s not quite as relaxing.”

Aaron Mullins

Systems Coordinator

The Systems Sorcerer

When Next Big Crop clients have an idea of what they want but don’t know how to get it out of their heads and into a workable operation, it’s time for them to meet Systems Coordinator Aaron Mullins.

“Basically, I make all of the stuff talk to each other and play nice,” Aaron, who is a certified electrical journeyman, says. “There are a hundred different ways that can happen, and so it’s my job to figure out which way will work best for this set of conditions and circumstances, and then be the systems integrator to get them all working together.”

Over his 14 years of electrical and automation systems work, Aaron has been responsible for the successful maintenance, installation and repair of motors, equipment and control systems in businesses, factories, warehouses and government buildings. It’s his teaching background as a journeyman educator, though, that makes it so easy for him to break down the complex structures so that everyone can understand them. Since Aaron joined the Next Big Crop team in 2016, he’s been instrumental in designing and installing facilities from 10,000 to more than 200,000 square feet.

When he isn’t maximizing efficiency and production, Aaron — who’s originally from Gillette, Wyoming, but now calls Denver home — can be found jumping out of airplanes or off the top of a hotel on an Acapulco beach. Naturally. “I moved to Colorado in 2009, and it was just so beautiful, I had to stay,” he says. “But I always say that I like to play with parachutes, and I like to travel, and so when I get to combine those two things, it’s pretty cool.”

Ann Stinn

Compliance Manager

The Cannabis "Sherpa"

Even though Ann Stinn doesn’t have a lot of direct contact with the people who ultimately benefit from her work, she says her favorite part of being a Compliance Manager is knowing what a significant impact what she does has on everyone involved with a cannabis operation, from patients and caregivers to owners and employees. “I feel like the fact that I have their health and safety at the forefront of my mind helps me to prioritize where I’m going,” Ann says. “I might be twice-removed from personal interaction, but knowing that I’m helping in some way from afar is so important to me.”

As an expert in ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems, Ann specializes in auditing, lean manufacturing, six sigma analysis, and other quality system tools used to accelerate growth and performance excellence within an organization. Originally from Minneapolis, Ann moved to Denver in 1997 and worked as a manufacturing engineer learning AutoCAD, machine programming and QC inspection to tight protocols.

Ann’s experience also includes over 10 years as an ISO Management Representative in the heavily regulated medical device manufacturing industry, which only served to reinforce her understanding of the critical components of compliance. Ann entered the cannabis industry in 2016, to provide compliance management and consulting services to dispensaries and infused-product manufacturers. After joining Next Big Crop in 2018, Ann has since been instrumental in the development and maintenance of quality assurance systems helping the cannabis industry to thrive on a global scale. Ann is a member of the ASTM Cannabis Standards work group, Colorado MED Rulemaking workgroups, and a participant on the BSI Cannabis Industry Roundtable.

Life isn’t just about the regulatory dance, though, and so Ann, who has been playing piano since she was 9 years old, kicks back by playing bass regularly in a rock band. “I’ve played everything from punk to whatever,” she says. “It’s so rewarding, because it’s for the person playing, and it’s also for anyone who cares to listen.”

Tyler Loeffler

Lead Designer

Tyler the Creator

Colorado native Tyler Loeffler, a former Firefighter 1/EMT, leverages his problem-solving abilities and effective communication skills to succeed at his current position, Lead Designer, continuing his commitment to excellence and passion for helping others. “I still put out fires, they’re just a different kind,” Tyler says.

After Tyler left the world of rescue nearly five years ago, he became an architectural surveyor, creating as-built drawings using computer-aided drafting (CAD). Prior to joining Next Big Crop in 2017, he created full-scale as-builts for mall retail, warehouses, grocery stores, and residential. His past experiences have given him deep insights into ways to help clients consider any opportunities and limitations related to design on existing and new construction. “There are a lot of moving parts that a client may not necessarily think about, and that’s why I’m here,” Tyler says.

At Next Big Crop, Tyler is responsible for all design and build projects, as well as the allocation of project resources, coordination of drawings, scheduling, tracking, and leading quality assurance efforts, and he now uses Auto CAD and Revit to produce architectural, MEP, site, and fixture plans.

The ability to perform in fast-paced and complex environments comes in handy during Tyler’s days off, when he typically heads toward a BASE jumping site, near or far. “I was first introduced to BASE jumping when I was 18 and became quickly absorbed. Shortly after, I learned that skydiving was a prerequisite and began pursuing that goal,” Tyler says. “One of my favorite sites is Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.”

Justin Itzkowitz

Lead Designer

Mr. Multi-Dimensional

After a few experiences with 3D printing in college, Justin Itzkowitz was hooked. “In my freshman year, I did a project that involved printing 3D rockets, and that really sparked an interest in all things 3D,” Justin says. “Later, I also got to be involved in this amazing project designing 3D prosthetic hands for MIT’s FabLab, and that kind of sealed it.”

After moving to Colorado from Boston in 2017 (he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Union College), Justin joined Next Big Crop in 2017, and using Solidworks and AutoCAD, he has since brought to life hundreds of thousands of square feet of cannabis cultivation, dispensary and manufacturing facilities. His primary focus is system design, which means things like working up facility and equipment specs, creating irrigation systems, and coordinating with clients’ engineers and architects throughout the process to ensure that all of the details and requests from clients have been relayed and implemented in the final design.

Unlike the typical cliché of an introverted engineer, though, Justin says he really welcomes the human interaction of his work. “The things I enjoy here include dealing with our clients, who are all so different and have different needs and viewpoints,” Justin says. “I also like coordinating with vendors, establishing those relationships and making the right call on a good fit with the client. For me, the most important thing here is, what does the client want, and how can I make that happen?”

Like quite a few of his Next Big Crop co-workers, Justin loves to skydive, and hopes to do more of it. “I’ve gone a few times, and it’s just incredible,” says Justin, who grew up skiing Vail at his grandfather’s place. “The main reason I moved to Colorado was for the skiing, but then I discovered this great skydiving community here, including all of these great people in the office who spend their weekends out there.”

Jarret Ricci

Cultivation Consultant

"Let him in, He's with the Band"

Very little in Jarret Ricci’s past predicted his future results as a top-tier cultivation expert, but he thinks the intriguing disparity of his experiences has been instrumental in his success. “The work of running a cultivation is not usually what people expect,” Jarret says. “There’s so much thinking involved. You need to have a clear plan or a well-thought-out philosophy of why you’re doing this, and you need to be able to look as far down the road as possible to account for anything and everything.”

The Philadelphia native earned his first Bachelor of Science degree, in History, from Ohio’s Wittenberg University. While studying at Wittenberg, he spent a year in Thailand teaching English at local schools. After graduating, Jarret moved to L.A. for a brief time; he had planned on moving back to Philly, but on the trip back home he stopped in Denver and never left. Jarret earned a second BS in Education from Denver’s Metro State University and began teaching social studies.

But after teaching, a chance introduction to growing cannabis led him to spending four years working for Way to Grow, designing grow rooms, writing nutrient recipes, creating integrated pest management programs, and managing several large accounts.

Since Jarret joined Next Big Crop in January 2017 as a Cultivation Consultant, he has been in an integral support role for each of Next Big Crop’s clients, working directly with them to create the cultivation of their dreams. “It’s like building a race car,” he explains. “Everything has a function; nothing is extra or there just to be shiny. Each element needs to be performance-based and there for a reason, and then once you get going, you need to try to look as far down the road as possible.”

Considering the analogy, it’s no shocker that Jarret works on race cars in his off hours, along with racing them and riding dirt bikes, and skiing and snowboarding in the winter. “I have this 1971 TVR that’s one of only 273 made, and I’ve had it since I was 17. I will never sell it; I built it with my Dad,” Jarret says. “I’m putting a new racing motor in it, and then I’m going to try and scare myself. It’ll be interesting, for sure, to see how it goes.”

Jon Jirikovec

Cultivation Superintendent

Mr. Make It Happen

Jon Jirikovec started out in business — he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University — but once he became involved in the alternative medicine industry, he knew he’d found his calling. “What I like about this is that it’s completely different from a normal desk job,” Jon says. “It’s also really cool being in a new, emergent industry. I love being a part of changing the stigma around it and helping people realize the health benefits.”

Jon grew up in Nashville, but a move to Denver in 2011 sparked an interest in cannabis cultivation, particularly in the areas of research, sustainability and wellness. In 2013, he became the Lead Grower for Doctor’s Orders, then for Sweet Leaf in 2014-15, followed by time as a Head Grower for the Native Roots brand starting in 2016. It was there that his leadership role and successes in cultivation became undeniably strong, and he joined the Next Big Crop team in 2018. “I worked in restaurants when I first got here, but I started meeting people who were working cannabis and were really excited about the opportunities and potential,” Jon says. “I became fascinated with large-scale production and best practices, and how to create models to minimize labor and maximize output.”

Jon also sees the rewards of spending time outdoors, with snowboarding and doing pretty much anything in the mountains topping his list of favorites, although he heads to the beach on vacation when he wants some time to reset — Bali and Southeast Asia are at the top of his bucket list right now. “There just has to be water,” he says. “I really love going to Mexico or anywhere on the coast.”

Rich Cardinal

Rob Hansen

Christian Phelps

Clay Brier

Mali Sanati

Aaron Mullins

Ann Stinn

Tyler Loeffler

Justin Itzkowitz

Jarret Ricci

Jon Jirikovec

Hit us up!

Rich Cardinal

Rob Hansen

Christian Phelps

Clay Brier

Mali Sanati

Aaron Mullins

Ann Stinn

Tyler Loeffler

Justin Itzkowitz

Jarret Ricci

Jon Jirikovec