Team

Company Overview

Hemp Benchmarks®​, a division of New Leaf Data Services, is a leading provider of financial, business and industry data for the North American hemp markets. We offer comprehensive and unique benchmark services for public and private organizations, and financial institutions via our HEMPBENCHMARKS.COM ™ platform.

Management Team

Jonathan Rubin, CEO – Jonathan has more than 25 years of business experience in regulated and unregulated markets, including 18 years as a management consultant advising on strategy, financing, acquisitions and post-merger integration.  Over the past decade he directed the turn-around of the energy commodity analytics business acquired by S&P Global Platts from The Financial Times; provided due diligence on the acquisition of a globally recognized commodity information service; and co-launched The Petrochemical Standard, a commodity pricing agency serving traders of petrochemical futures.

Ian Laird, CFO & General Counsel – Ian has more than 30 years of finance experience as a lawyer, an investment banker and a private equity investor.  He has extensive experience raising capital for private companies and entrepreneurs, as well as advising public and private companies on mergers, acquisitions and divestures.  Ian has specialized in structuring non-recourse project financings that address commodity price risk in various industries, including energy, mining, and pulp and paper. 

Het Shah, Managing Director, Price Assessments – HD has more than 15 years experience in mining and analyzing data to develop the viewpoints on physical and financial markets that reveal trading opportunities.  He assisted in designing and launching an online platform for analyzing fundamental commodity data at Platts—the largest commodity data, analytics and price reporting agency in the world.  

Keith Holecek, Managing Director, Data Operations & Client Services – Keith has over 20 years experience working with customers across the globe to create data and software solutions for government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. Keith has been with New Leaf Data Services since its inception and works across all departments to ensure our content and reports get in the hands of our audiences in a timely manner.

Bruce Kennedy, Hemp Expert & Industry Analyst – Bruce is an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of research and reporting experience. He is a nationally recognized reporter who has been covering the legal cannabis and hemp markets since 2010.

Adam Koh, Hemp and Cannabis Expert & Editorial Director – A former academic and commercial cannabis cultivator, Adam is our Editorial Director and resident hemp and cannabis expert, and provides editorial analysis and commentary for our reports. From 2013-2015 he managed an indoor medical cannabis cultivation facility in the Denver area that consisted of 350 lights devoted to flowering plants. He shares his thoughts and analysis of cultivation and regulatory issues on his personal website

Kari Tewalt, Director of Operations – Kari is responsible for multiple aspects of operations, planning, and executing strategic initiatives.

Dixie Barrett, Exchange Royalty & Data Licensing Specialist – Dixie is responsible for commercial terms with exchanges and marketplaces. She brings 30 years of experience in trading services among global commodities companies.

Full Team Bios are available here

Hemp Industries Association Midwest Hemp Council National Hemp Association