Staff
Who We Are and What We Do
Cannabis Business Times is owned by GIE Media, based in Valley View, Ohio. CBT’s mission is to help accelerate the success of legal cannabis cultivators by providing actionable intelligence in all aspects of the business, from legislation, regulation and compliance news to analysis of industry trends, as well as expert advice on cultivation, marketing, financial topics, legal issues and more.
CBT focuses strictly on the business of legal cannabis for medical and adult use and aims to provide timely information to help the reader make timely, informed decisions to help them run their businesses better and more profitably. In 2018, Cannabis Business Times was named Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
Chris Foster
President and CEO
Chris Foster rejoined GIE Media as President & COO in May, 2005, after spending nine years away holding senior positions with InsightExpress LLC, the largest online market research company globally, as VP of Technology and Product Development, and Attachmate Corporation running the Global Network Technology Practice. Prior to that, Chris has worked at GIE Media in various roles from Controller to General Manager, having started with GIE Media directly out of college. He holds degrees in International Business Administration and International Marketing from Heidelberg, Germany.
Jim Gilbride
Group Publisher
Jim Gilbride has nearly 20 years of experience in the event and media industries. As the Group Publisher of the Cannabis Media Group at GIE Media, Jim oversaw the acquisition of the Cannabis Business Times website in 2015, which was followed by a subsequent print magazine launch later that year. CBT won Magazine of the Year from the Associate of Business Publication Editors in 2018. Jim oversaw the 2017 launch of the group’s industry-leading event, Cannabis Conference.
jgilbride@gie.net / 216-393-0245
Noelle Skodzinski
Editorial Director
Noelle Skodzinski has more than two decades’ experience in the publishing industry. She co-founded Cannabis Business Times with previous owner Tim Hermes in 2014. She has been named among the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Cannabis. In 2012, she founded mediaShepherd–a website providing actionable intelligence for media professionals–where she served as president and editorial director. Prior to that, she was the editorial director of the Publishing Group at North American Publishing Co. In that role, she oversaw Publishing Executive and Book Business magazines, along with all related digital products, including daily enewsletters, and served as director of the annual Publishing Business Conference, the Publishing Business Virtual Conference and all webinars. Skodzinski was previously editor of The Crafts Report magazine, managing editor for Inside Direct Mail, senior writer for Target Marketing, interim managing editor for The Jewish Exponent, among other posts. In 2018 and 2020, Skodzinski was named one of the top women in media by Folio.
nskodzinski@gie.net / 856-979-2081
Michelle Simakis
Editor-in-Chief
Michelle Simakis has more than a decade of experience in publishing and media. She joined Cannabis Business Times, one of the leading business magazines serving plant-touching cannabis companies in the industry, in 2019. In 2021, she was recognized as one of Folio’s Top Women in Media, receiving an “Up and Comers” award. Previously, she was editor of Garden Center magazine, a trade publication serving independent garden centers, and helped launch the brand’s first conference in 2018. Before joining GIE Media in 2012, Simakis launched one of the first Patch websites in Northeast Ohio, delivering daily news updates covering everything from city council to crime to arts for residents of Cleveland Heights. She has also contributed features to Cleveland-based news organizations such as Fresh Water Cleveland. Simakis is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
msimakis@gie.net / 216-393-0275
Tony Lange
Associate Editor
Tony Lange joined GIE Media as an associate editor of the Cannabis Business Times team in January 2021. He spent the past decade working in the weekly newspaper business, contributing primarily to the Chagrin Valley Times as a beat reporter, sports editor, photographer and page designer. Before that, he was a staff assistant for a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., where he drafted responses to constituent letters and aided the communications director. Lange is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
alange@gie.net / 216-393-0234
Craig Thorne
Senior Account Manager
Craig Thorne joined GIE Media in 2015 as the Account Manager for Golf Course Industry Magazine. In 2018, he was promoted to Account Manager of Cannabis Business Times magazine, where he was responsible for driving sales and growing the market share of the industry-leading brand.
cthorne@gie.net / 216-393-0232
Michaela Dodrill
Market Coordinator
Michaela Dodrill assists in organizing logistics and outreach for Cannabis Business Times.
mdodrill@gie.net / 216-393-0336
Jim Blayney
Creative Director
Jim Blayney joined GIE Media in 2005. In his current role as creative director, Blayney oversees the visual design of Cannabis Business Times, Waste Today, Recycling Today and Golf Course Industry.
jblayney@gie.net / 216-393-0226
Katelyn Mullen
Art Director
Katelyn Mullen joined GIE Media in 2015. In her current role as art director, Mullen oversees the photography, design and overall visual elements of Cannabis Business Times, Quality Assurance & Food Safety and Nursery Management magazines. She is a graduate of Ohio University.
kboyden@gie.net / 216-393-0312
Christina Warner
Director of Data Acquisition
Christina Warner was hired by GIE Media in 2004 as Market Coordinator for the Lawn & Landscape Media Group. In 2006, she was asked to become a team member of GIE Media’s Web Group where she managed many aspects of online advertising. Since then, she held many roles within the Web Group, including Web Content Editor and Email Production Manager. She was promoted to Audience Development Director in 2014 and currently oversees all operations in that department.
cwarner@gie.net / 216-393-0292
Kaitlin Plazak
Audience Development Associate
Kaitlin Plazak joined GIE Media in January 2022 as an audience development associate for Cannabis Business Times. She manages, analyzes, and improves data in our subscriber database. She is also responsible for building and managing brand reach in strategic market segments. She is an alumna of John Carroll University.
kplazak@gie.net / 216-393-0287
Editorial Advisory Board
Raymond Cloyd, Ph.D., Professor/Extension Specialist, Department of Entomology, Kansas State University
David Holmes, Founder/CEO, Clade9
Brian E. Jackson, Ph.D., Professor of Floriculture, North Carolina State University
Corinne Klewsaat, Director of Cultivation, Etain LLC
Rich Kwesell, Co-Founder/Co-Owner, Strawberry Fields
Kevin Kuethe, Chief Cultivation Officer, Lume Cannabis Co.
Michael Mills, CEO, Body & Mind
Kenneth "K" Morrow, Founder, Trichome Technologies
Mojave Richmond, Founding Member, BioAgronomics Group
Markus Roggen, Ph.D., President and Chief Science Officer, Delic Labs
Brian Whipker, Ph.D., Professor of Floriculture, North Carolina State University
