Case Study

Head of Retail

The Challenge

A successful Nevada-based cannabis company needed to hire a Head of Retail. Their dispensaries were growing quickly across the Las Vegas area, and at the time, the Founder/CEO was leading retail operations. He needed someone to alleviate those responsibilities, so he could focus on more strategic initiatives. He also needed someone to improve consistency across the stores - by aligning processes, SOPs, and culture across the organization. The prospective leader had to have a deep understanding of retail operations, including some knowledge about the cannabis industry. They had to have a level of executive presence to raise the bar in retail ops. And because their dispensaries were dealing with high turnover - they had to understand how to develop and retain great store leadership.

The Solution

Once we understood the client’s organizational DNA, we worked together to craft the new role. Then, we conducted a nationwide search focused on incredible talent from quick-service restaurants (QSR), Softline retail, and grocery stores. However, we realized quickly that these candidates didn’t have the “startup mentality” needed for the business. We refocused to search for individuals who understood the cannabis industry, and we also honed in on individuals who worked on “special team” or “Intrapreneur” projects under a larger umbrella company.

The Results

Y Scouts found an incredible candidate who came from some of the best brands in Softline retail, including Amazon, Walmart, and Target. She fit perfectly with the culture, and she had just left the “traditional world” to pursue a consulting gig with a cannabis company. She was a bright professional, a good judge of talent, and an opinionated leader but fair.  After receiving the green light from our client, we started the offering process and she quickly accepted the role as Head of Retail. Once she was up and running in retail operations, there was no stopping the company from providing a delightful customer experience. And with the candidate’s new leadership, the company was positioned to be attractive to one of the largest players in the space. Eventually, it resulted in an acquisition, and our placed candidate has remained with the parent company ever since. She’s won multiple awards, including industry recognition and the best place to work. 


Legally, we need you to know this:

Y Scouts and our client does not discriminate in employment matters on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.
We support workplace diversity.  

...and we want to add this:

Inclusion and diversity contribute to a healthy culture and broader collective perspective that will consistently lead to stronger organizations, better products, and greater positive impact. We work hard to help our clients increase the diversity of teams and we actively encourage everyone to actionably support inclusion and diversity.

Y Scouts is connecting people to work that matters and helping organizations hire on purpose.