High Times Appoints New CEO After Stormy Simon Exit

Hightimes Holding Corp. has appointed Peter Horvath as new CEO after Stormy Simon suddenly resigned from the post earlier this week. Horvath is a former chief commercialization officer of American Eagle Outfitters and former chief operating officer at Victoria’s Secret.

Horvath is the third person to hold the position for Hightimes in just over a calendar year. Simon took over as CEO from Kraig Fox last January; Fox was hired last April. Last month, Simon announced plans to run for Utah’s state House of Representatives as a pro-cannabis candidate but it’s unclear whether the decisions are related.

In a statement, Horvath called High Times “a unique brand with an important and rich heritage that deserves amplification and broader reach.”

“I think of brands like Glossier, who first earned high affinity followers through compelling and relevant content, and then demonstrated that you can also serve their followers through commerce. So, it’s been done before, I wouldn’t suggest that it will be easy, but we have all the resources to succeed. I look forward to joining Adam [Levin]’s accomplished team at High Times, and I am intent on understanding, protecting, and building on the High Times legacy.” – Horvath in a press release

Levin said there are “few executives” with Horvath’s retail experience “in the mainstream world and, up to this point, none in the cannabis world with such an accomplished background.”

The shakeup marks the latest in Hightimes’ ebb and flow of late, which saw them in January express “substantial doubt” in the magazine’s future and hire Simon later that month who indicated the company would pivot to touching the plant. In February, the company would receive a trading symbol, and in March the company reached a deal to Acquire Humboldt Heritage and Subsidiaries.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the firm suspended the publication of DOPE and Culture magazines – which they acquired last year but would subsequently reduce staffing at both publications.

Earlier this month, the company announced it had acquired 13 California dispensaries from Harvest. Simon was absent from that announcement. That deal is expected to close June 30.

Neither Simon nor Hightimes have offered an explanation for her exit.