Brings over a decade of experience in private equity investing and portfolio management to PurpleRock. Prior to founding PurpleRock, Varma was a member of the investment team at First Reserve, the largest energy focused private equity firm with over $30 billion in assets under management. He has evaluated and executed investments in the wellness, education, industrial, business services, infrastructure, midstream, downstream and upstream sectors. In addition to investment due diligence and structuring activities, Varma led a variety of industry research and deal sourcing initiatives at First Reserve. Prior to First Reserve, Varma worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Natural Resources Group. Varma has also previously worked for BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and Egret Capital Partners. Originally from India, Varma grew up in New York City and holds a BBA from the Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College, City University of New York, where he also served as a Trustee of the Baruch College Fund.

Brings nearly two decades of legal experience and regulatory expertise to PurpleRock. Wenger is a member of the US Senate Cannabis Working Group and US House of Representatives Cannabis Working Group. He is a longtime investor in the cannabis industry. Wenger advises business entrants, institutional investors, and cannabis industry companies on strategy and opportunities. Wenger wrote the seminal White Paper on the US cannabis industry, “The Green Regulatory Arbitrage: A Case for Investing in US Multi-State Vertically-Integrated Cannabis Companies”. Before his current professional focus on the US cannabis industry, Wenger worked at DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest global law firms, and represented clients such as Petrobras, Kingdom of Thailand, Dubai ruler, Afghanistan, Pfizer, PPG, Irving Shipbuilding, Troy University, Oman, Stolt, Citizens Bank, W.P. Carey, McDonald’s, and AIG. Wenger holds a JD from Fordham University School of Law.

Brings nearly two decades of experience in marketing and brand development to PurpleRock. Rabin advises a multitude of organizations who seek to win by delighting consumers – from companies already in the cannabis industry that are looking to develop long-term sustainable competitive advantages to large multi-national organizations seeking an entry point into cannabis. Rabin comes to the US cannabis industry from a career as the Global VP of Marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev), where his responsibility spanned brand building and innovation across a portfolio of core beer brands ($10+ Billion portfolio). Prior to ABInBev, Rabin worked for nearly a decade at Bayer HealthCare, as a brand builder in the Consumer Health division. His most significant role was as Director overseeing the entire Global Aspirin franchise, leading growth for the company through brand strategy, customer insights, and communications development on the largest brand in the Bayer Consumer portfolio. Rabin holds a BA (High Honors in Mathematics & Economics) from Northwestern University, and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management with a focus on Marketing and New Product Development.

Brings a decade of operating experience and e-commerce expertise to PurpleRock. Patel has founded five branded companies: Founder and Chairman of InstaNatural (nature-inspired beauty and cosmetic brand), Zenwise Health (human nutritional supplements brand), Zesty Paws (pet health & wellness brand), Smooth Viking (men’s beard & hair care brand) and Trinova (home, automotive and boat care products, sold to GoldEagle at the end of 2016). Patel was named 2016 Florida Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®. Patel has an invaluable toolkit for brands looking to grow and expand their e-commerce operations. Originally from India, Patel grew up in Orlando and holds a BBA from the University of Florida.

Brings around three decades of experience at Bayer Consumer Health to PurpleRock. Smith is a results-driven marketing, sales, and business development executive with a broad and long history of creating high-performing teams and delivering market leading growth. Smith led all aspects of Bayer’s $1 billion Nutritionals & Digestive Health portfolio. Among his accomplishments, Smith also drove One A Day to the #1 position in the adult multivitamin market. Preceding positions included VP Marketing OTC Brands, VP Sales for the National Drug Team, VP Marketing for Nutritionals, and VP Market Research for the US. In addition to serving as a Partner at PurpleRock, Girard is an Executive Vice President Client Lead for Market Performance Group (MPG).