Nico Pento is a licensed attorney and one of the more straightforward voices in cannabis — known for telling it like it is in an industry that often doesn’t.

He is equally at home structuring a complex acquisition, navigating a hostile regulatory environment, or moving legislation across a finish line. Over the past decade he has been a driving force behind some of the industry’s more ambitious growth stories — including helping build one of the country’s largest privately held MSOs earlier in his career, and more recently serving as part of the core leadership team that has transformed Elevate from a single-state startup into a thriving multi-state operator in under three years.

Wherever he has operated, legislative wins have followed — and his peers have taken notice. He holds leadership roles across multiple state cannabis trade associations and sits on the Board of Directors for the US Cannabis Roundtable.

Nico holds a J.D. from Florida State University and is licensed in Colorado and Florida. When he’s not closing a deal, he’s mountain biking or surfing in Central America.