KIM RIVERS

FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN & CEO, TRULIEVE, TALLAHASSEE

Trulieve is the largest cannabis retailer in the world with 195 stores, 4 million square feet of production capacity and 5,700 employees as of March 2024. Founded in 2015, Trulieve conducted the first medical marijuana sale in Florida in 2016 and it was also the first to serve patients in Georgia and West Virginia. The company was also the primary funder behind the $50-million campaign that put the question of legalization of recreational marijuana on Florida’s 2024 general election ballot. Rivers has led the company since she founded it in 2015. Before that, she spent several years in private practice as a lawyer specializing in mergers, acquisitions and securities for large companies.

EDUCATION: Florida State University (BS), University of Florida (JD)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: (I would) support and deliver through bipartisan efforts common sense cannabis legislation to allow adult use of cannabis with restrictions to enforce age-related access and a ban on smoking in public places. The state government has the ability to tax and regulate legal cannabis for adults while setting appropriate time, place, and manner limitations on personal consumption. Florida has a unique opportunity to set an example for other states by implementing a well-crafted, thoughtful roadmap for adult use.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: ‘I believe in order to scale a sustainable company, you must combine patience, patience, patience, and explosive speed.’ — Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn

LISTENING: Masters of Scale podcast, by Reid Hoffman

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: What you spend energy and focus on becomes your destiny.

INSPIRING FLORIDIAN
“Former Senate President Toni Jennings … was a true ceiling buster who handled her affairs with intelligence, toughness and grace.”