Executive Management

George Archos is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verano. He entered the cannabis industry in 2014 when he was the first in Illinois to receive authorization to grow medical cannabis out of 21 recipients of the state's coveted medical licenses.

George's successful entrepreneurial ventures span a multitude of industries, and he is dedicated to talent development, operational quality and efficiency, entrepreneurship, and leading with integrity as one of the cannabis industry's most respected and influential leaders. A veteran of the logistics and operations sectors, he has extensive experience coordinating complex freight delivery operations and designing and operating successful restaurants.

Leveraging his devotion to quality and a unique results-oriented approach, he has overseen the development of some of the cannabis industry's most successful operations and trusted portfolio of powerhouse brands including Verano™, Bits™, Avexia™, Encore™, Savvy™ and MÜV™.

Mr. Heine was promoted and appointed to Vice President, Corporate Controller of the Company in April 2025, and serves as the Company’s Principal Accounting Officer. He joined Verano in February 2024 as Director of Finance - Technical Accounting, following an extensive tenure with the global accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, where he most recently served as Audit & Assurance Senior Manager for four years. Mr. Heine is a certified public accountant with a Master’s degree in accounting, and undergraduate degrees in accounting and management from the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.

Ms. Kalesnik is Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary for Verano, where she is responsible for overseeing all Verano's legal activity and policy within the Company.

Ms. Kalesnik brings over 30 years of legal experience advising public and private companies across varying sectors with robust practice leading organizations through transformational moments, such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic restructuring and reorganization, financings, divestitures, spin-offs, securities offerings, and corporate governance.

Ms. Kalesnik joined Verano as Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in 2021 after leaving her position as Partner at a large law firm where she supported corporations with governance and fiduciary duties, public reporting and disclosure obligations. She spent much of her legal career as Partner at several prestigious law firms, where she gained invaluable knowledge on general corporate matters.

Ms. Kalesnik received her bachelor's degree from University of Oklahoma, her master's degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management and her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University. She was named a Texas Top Rated Lawyer by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell for 2013-2015 and a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters for 2010-2019.

Mr. Leventis was promoted and appointed as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Compliance Officer in July 2025 after previously serving as Executive Vice President of Legal, Regulatory and Government Affairs from March 2019 to June 2025. Prior to joining Verano, Mr. Leventis was a Principal at The Advis Group from August 2015 to February 2019, a national legal-based healthcare consulting firm, where he led the company’s pharmaceutical, regulatory and commercial strategy practices. Mr. Leventis provided regulatory, compliance and corporate counsel to a broad range of healthcare providers, helping his clients develop new commercial ventures, optimize operations and business management strategies, navigate complex regulatory landscapes, and resolve corporate investigations. Prior to joining The Advis Group, Mr. Leventis was an attorney at Kamensky Rubinstein Hochman & Delott, LP (now Roetzel & Andress, LPA), where he represented national healthcare clients in regulatory and commercial litigation matters, and was also instrumental in helping clients obtain and operate cannabis licenses in Illinois following the passage of the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act.

Mr. Leventis has also advocated for cannabis legislative reform at the state and federal levels, having served as a founding member and executive officer on a number of boards, trade associations and political action committees, including the United States Cannabis Roundtable, the American Rights and Reform PAC, the American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp, and more.

Mr. Leventis received a dual-degree BA in History and Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2008, a JD cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2011, and an LL.M. in Health Law and Policy from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2016. He is based on the Company’s Chicago headquarters.

Mr. McDermott oversees the breadth of Verano's operations, including all cultivation and processing facilities and retail locations under the Zen Leaf and MÜV brands. He and his team are responsible for the development of standard operating procedures and processes, logistics and day-to-day operations to deliver Verano's suite of high-quality products to patients and consumers across its operating footprint.

Mr. McDermott joined Verano as Executive Vice President of Operations in 2021, where he actively collaborated with the executive leadership team and leaders from across all functions of the organization to drive excellence in standard operating procedures.

Prior to joining Verano, he spent nearly seven years as Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at BellRock Brands, a Denver-based cannabis company, where he played an integral role in expanding the company from one to eight markets, completed a merger with Mary's Medicinals, executed and managed multiple third-party licensing transactions and the company listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Mr. McDermott received his bachelor's degree in finance and entrepreneurship from Boston University.

Mr. Miles leads the organization's investor relations, capital markets, corporate development and communications departments. He has distinguished himself as a cannabis industry leader in the financial and investor relations space, having notably assisted in taking both Cresco Labs and Verano Holdings public on the Canadian Securities Exchange in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

Over the course of his more than 20 years of financial and capital markets experience, Mr. Miles has served in leadership roles across a variety of Fortune 500 companies and industries. His background and expertise spans investor relations, in large and diversified corporations that include Abbott Laboratories, CME Group, Navigant, Tribune Publishing Company, the New York Stock Exchange, and Cresco Labs.

A native of Michigan, Mr. Miles graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in economics and obtained his master's in finance from Walsh College.

Mr. Spreckman oversees all aspects of the organization's marketing, creative, and brand communications across all business units. He and his team are responsible for connecting Verano products, services, and experiences with consumers to build brand equity while driving demand and retention across all channels.

Mr. Spreckman leads ongoing efforts at Verano to develop and refine its CPG brand portfolio, in order to expand distribution and adoption of its product catalogue across its operating footprint, while scaling a sustainable marketing platform for its retail business aimed at educating and empowering consumers at every stage in their journey from discovery to purchase.

In his previous role with Verano, he served as vice president of marketing and corporate communications. In addition to leading the company's retail marketing arm, he was responsible for authoring Verano's external communications and leading media engagement during its go-public phase in 2021. Today, as the company continues to deliver on its growth strategy, he oversees brand integration and consolidation across the portfolio to optimize brand performance and commercial efficiency.

Before joining Verano in June 2019, Mr. Spreckman held several roles in the advertising business as a leader of brand and creative strategy on the agency side. His responsibilities included driving market differentiation, consumer engagement, revenue growth and market-share capture for a diverse roster of B2B and B2C clientele that included legacy brands Philips Norelco, Solo Cup, STARZ Entertainment, Nissan, and TransUnion, as well as early-stage start-ups, offshoots, and niche products.

Mr. Spreckman graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, public relations and Spanish.

Mr. Tarapchak joined the Company in July 2022 as Executive Vice President, Finance & Corporate Controller, and was promoted and appointed to Chief Financial Officer in April 2025. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Tarapchak served in various senior accounting and finance roles, including as Vice President Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of II-VI Incorporated from January 2021 to July 2022, Corporate Controller of Reynolds Group Holdings Limited from 2015 to 2021, Chief Financial Officer of National Material L.P. from 2014 to 2015, and a number of positions at Navistar International Corporation, including, most recently, Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller from 2010 to 2014. Mr. Tarapchak earned a business administration degree from Wittenberg University in 1987 and an MBA in finance and accounting from The Ohio State University in 1992. Mr Tarapchak is a certified public accountant, and serves on the Board of the Illinois CPA Society and as a member of the Governing Council for the AICPA.

Ms. Thompson is responsible for leading Verano's overall people strategy, which includes workforce planning, talent management, learning and development, diversity, equity, and inclusion, acquisitions and integration and overall employee engagement to support the future growth of the company.

Ms. Thompson has over 20 years of human resources experience in professional and financial services firms. Her expertise is leading and transforming companies in various industries through their next evolution of supercharged growth, building and scaling the People function to align to the overall business long-term strategy and revenue goals while also maintaining a People First philosophy and culture through continual innovation and change. She has experience in various industries, including technology, higher education, life sciences and financial services.

Prior to joining Verano, Ms. Thompson served as the Chief Human Resource Officer at Stout, an investment banking and financial services firm where she served on the executive team leading Stout's people strategy as well as 15 years at Huron Consulting Group leading and scaling many businesses globally for transformative growth.

Ms. Thompson is a member of Chief, a private network of C-level women that share and cross-pollinate ideas across many industries, and also serves on the Expert Council for Hacking HR, leading and contributing to conversations about the future of Human Resources and the evolving workforce. She received her bachelor's in English literature at Purdue University.