5 Questions With Jason White CMO: Select Brand

Warren Bobrow=WB: Please tell me about your company? What makes Select so valid in a marketplace filled with worthy contenders? What brought you to the cannabis business? What did you do originally?

Jason White=JW: Curaleaf is the nation’s largest cannabis provider with over 50 retail stores and five brands in 17 states. We are in the business of improving lives. Our founders have been at it for 10 years, experimenting and trying to serve patients every way possible. I joined Curaleaf as CMO when they acquired the brand Select in February 2020, where I was CMO.

The Select brand is a leader in the industry because it was built on the principle of being an Oregon underdog. We always wanted to make something better than what was out there. We say ‘Select Better.’ That really means something. From its inception this brand has tried to make a better cartridge, source better flower, produce better oil and be a better company. Better is in our bones.

WB: Do you have a mentor? Did you always want to do what you do today? Who inspired you? How does your company help with your personal growth?

 JW: You wouldn’t believe the mentors I’ve had over the last 20 years. Truly a gift from above. I was handed from Tiffany R. Warren (CDO Omnicom) to Morgan Flatley (former CMO Gatorade, current CMO McDonald’s) to Susan Credle (CCO FCB) to Rebecca VanDyke (Former CMO Levi’s and now CMO AR/VR Facebook) to Dave Luhr (Chairman W+K) to Luke Wood (President Beats By Dr Dre). That’s why it’s so important to me to mentor others. I feel like I cheated and got way too many industry superstars at incredible moments of growth in their careers. They were breaking rules and kicking butt and they let me go along for the ride provided I worked my tail off. They are all still in my life and each one still seems to have the right words at the right time.

Who inspired me? Well after my parents, I would say the Nike brand has inspired me most in my life. I’m a child of MJ, Agassi, Barkley and Just Do It. It’s in my DNA. It’s no surprise that the principles of hard work, no excuses and taking care of team or family are the same principles my father holds dear. My parents are the most influential people in my life. They both always told me I could be anything I wanted to be in life. I really believe when you hear those words over and over again at a young age that they get sewn into your view of the world somehow. By the time I was fourteen years old I had an Eleanor Roosevelt quote on my bedroom door that read “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

After my parents and Nike, I would say I’m most influenced by the incredible creative powerhouse, Gordon Parks. He was a true renaissance man who used his craft to touch people in almost every medium, from photography to film directing to classical music composition to poetry and painting. He was also just a really cool Brother (he directed Shaft!). I really wish I met him when he was alive.

WB: What are your goals in business? Six and twelve months? What about the obstacles? What about stigmas?

JW: Our goals are long term. Nothing short of leading the cannabis revolution will do. However, in order to do that we have to execute meticulously in the short term. COVID-19 has proven to the world that cannabis is legitimate and it is essential. As an industry, we must rise to this occasion RIGHT NOW. I think we will have the world’s attention for 12-18 more months and it’s on us to develop great products that make life better for both the patient who wants to stop the pain and the parent who wants an alternative to the regular glass of wine. I believe that at Curaleaf we’re lucky to hold our destiny in our own hands. We grow our own products and we own our own retail stores. Like so many #1 brands I’ve worked on like Nike, Disney M&M’s, Tide, and Beats by Dre, you don’t look to your competition to find your competition. You look inside your organization and ask, “Do we have a little more to give? Can we do a little better? Can we make a better product? Can we provide a better experience?” The great ones never stop because the answer is always yes. Everyday at Curaleaf 2200 people say yes. You have to believe that. It’s innovate or die, especially now. The world just changed overnight. What are you going to do about it?

WB:Do you have a favorite food memory? What does your favorite meal look like? Made by whom? (Living or not)

JW: After travel, I think my next favorite thing is eating the amazing food I encounter while traveling. I love to cook too. My favorite meal is going to be my first time eating in Italy. I love pasta. I love wine. I love Italian seasoning. The scene in Godfather when Clemenza makes the sauce…that’s my happy place. When I was young I decided to save my Italy trip for marriage. Then I never got married. Now I just need to go to Italy and stuff my face! Italy was in my 2020 plan before Covid-19. Maybe someone’s trying to tell me something…

WB: What is your passion? How has your passion taken what you do now forward?

JW: It sounds cliché but my passion is people. I am an empath, to a fault. I think that’s why I love travel so much. At 19 I went to New Zealand and I found acceptance as a person of color that made me feel like a global citizen. I had not felt that in America yet. Race was always such a complicated journey for me growing up. I went to New Zealand and made deep connections with people from all over the world and it changed me. I think that’s why I moved to China and why I love global jobs. I wouldn’t trade the experience of spending 6 years developing 100 young aspiring Chinese creatives for anything at all. People are wonderful beings and our global diversity is so special. Finding that common human connection with someone is a feeling like no other for me. Ultimately it’s why I love marketing. I’ve always been able to feel the voice of the consumer and feel the intention of the creative work. I think that’s why I love cannabis. The plant is a healer and that’s the greatest gift you could ever give an empath.