Mike Hennesy is the Vice President of Innovation at Wana Brands where he oversees their research and development program, new product design, educational training content, and growing partnerships with new cannabis technologies. Hennesy led the team in creating Wana’s new line of fast-acting Quick gummies, which ranked in the top 10 best-selling edibles in Colorado in less than a year after launch and use an innovative encapsulation technique to increase the bioavailability of cannabinoids and take effect quickly. He developed Wana’s online interactive training program for budtenders and employees that covers the science of the endocannabinoid system and directed the development of Wana’s unique proprietary terpene blends to deliver effect-oriented products. Hennesy previously managed Wana’s sales team of seven where the quickly growing business proved demanding but rewarding as his team expanded Wana’s shelf presence in the vast majority of Colorado’s dispensaries with a three-year growth rate of 203%. In 2021, Hennesy graduated from the nation’s first Master’s Program for Cannabis Science and Therapeutics at The University of Maryland’s School of Pharmacy and he has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Technology from The University of Maryland.

Hennesy’s two primary passions as an outdoor enthusiast and believer in cannabis brought him to Colorado in 2013, when he proceeded to enter the fast-paced and quickly growing marijuana industry as an independent contractor. He is a member of the International Cannabis Research Society (ICRS), the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). Hennesy brings a diverse background to the industry as a certified Rescue Diver, Eagle Scout and outdoorsman. When not working he still finds time for camping, hiking, mountain biking, and snowboarding in the mountains around Boulder, Colorado.