Cannabis Execs Raking In Over $400K A Year As Salaries Soar Into 2024

According to the firm’s 2024 salary and benefits report for consumer cannabis brands, recruiters are seeing increased interest in securing “hyper-relevant candidates” from outside the industry who can honor core cannabis culture while applying best practices honed in more traditional and mature consumer industries.

See also: Trump's Likely VP Pick, Nancy Mace, Wants Marijuana Legalized, Although She's 'Pretty Damn Conservative'

ForceBrands also surveyed its talent network in September to identify the most and least important benefit categories among millennials, Gen X, and boomers. The study found that 66 percent of respondents would leave their job for another with better benefits, highlighting the importance of compensation packages.

Top Five Salaries In The Cannabis Industry

According to ForceBrands’ data, executives with more than fifteen years of experience who work for companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue enjoy the highest base salaries. The following salaries represent the top end of the range for each role.

  1. Chief executive officer: $416,240
  2. Chief financial officer $396,469
  3. President: $368,372
  4. Chief revenue officer: $339,236
  5. Chief marketing officer: $338,195

Bottom Five Salaries For Management Roles

  1. Production supervisor: $44,747
  2. Accounts receivable lead: $56,192
  3. Executive assistant: $57,233
  4. General manager (dispensary front of house): $60,355
  5. Human resources generalist: $66,598

Largest 3-Year Salary Increases

While it’s no surprise that chief executive officers at the largest companies are awarded the biggest salaries, seeing which roles have increased the most in recent years illustrates exactly where companies are shifting their focus in challenging economic conditions. The following salary ranges represent the current market value for each role across small and large companies.

  • VP of Fulfillment (e-commerce): $181,024 to $226,611
  • Master Grower (C-suite): $107,182 to $210,201
  • Controller (finance): $131,116 to $184,186
  • Brand Manager (marketing): $120,979 to $180,887
  • B2B Sales Manager (sales): $90,52 to $164,415
  • Recruiter (human resources): $83,248 to $104,060
  • Production Supervisor (operations): $44,746 to $70,761

Benefits Trends Moving Into Next Year

Two out of three employees would leave their job for another with better benefits, and only one in five is “very satisfied” with their benefits package. Unfortunately, what’s important to employees changes with age, making it especially difficult for companies to satisfy everyone with a standard benefits package.

As a general trend, millennials see financial support as the most valuable benefits category, while Gen X and boomers value physical health the most. All age demographics indicated family planning support is the least important consideration in a benefits package.

Retaining and attracting the best talent in what Force calls a “still highly competitive labor market” requires benefits that appeal to employee wellness. This is especially important for smaller organizations that can’t compete directly with the benefit packages offered by larger organizations.

Top Five Health Benefits Received By A Majority Of Employees

  1. Partially or fully funded medical benefits.
  2. Dental care.
  3. Vision care.
  4. Short-term disability.
  5. Long-term disability.

Top Five Financial Benefits Received By A Majority Of Employees

  1. 401K with employer match.
  2. Term life insurance.
  3. 401k without employer match.
  4. Automobile allowance.
  5. Relocation assistance.

ForceBrands recruits for companies operating in the beer, wine, spirits, cannabis, food, beauty, wellness, and non-alcoholic beverages spaces. For the report, the company compiled data from internal job placements made over the past year in twenty-two markets across nineteen states. The average salaries listed do not include variable compensation such as performance-based bonuses or stock options.

This article is from an external unpaid contributor. It does not represent Benzinga's reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

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