Lantern Spins Off Drizly Group With $40M Capital, Shakes Up Leadership Team

On Wednesday, Cannabis e-commerce and home delivery platform Lantern announced several changes in its leadership team.

Meredith Mahoney, Lantern's president, was named co-founder and CEO, the Boston-based company disclosed.

In addition, Katie Neer, who has served as head of industry affairs, was named general counsel. In her new position, she will lead the company's legal and government affairs, as well as social equity initiatives.

Akele Parnell, the company's head of equity partnerships, was also appointed to lead Lantern's social equity incubator program.

Mahoney, an e-commerce veteran, has been leading the company since its launch in May 2020 by the group behind Drizly, Boston-based alcohol e-commerce.

After Uber Technologies UBER announced an agreement to acquire Drizly for approximately $1.1 billion in stock and cash in February 2021, Lantern has transitioned to a separate corporate entity and received $40 million in capital from Drizly Group.

Following Uber's acquisition of Drizly, Lantern co-founder, Justin Robinson, transitioned to a full-time role at the company.

Robinson agreed to oversee Lantern's growth operations and product development, as well as work closely with Mahoney on the development of the platform's personalized discovery features and expansion to new legal markets.

"Cannabis is expected to become the final frontier in the e-commerce landscape, and I am thrilled to focus my efforts on fulfilling our company's long-term vision of bringing transparency, equity, and access to the legal space," Robinson commented.

Lantern currently offers on-demand cannabis delivery for patients and adult-use consumers in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Colorado.

"Lantern has already made a meaningful impact in each of its local business communities, and I am eager to work with Justin, Katie, Akele, and Lantern leadership to bring our on-demand platform and mission-driven service to compelling new markets in the near future," Mahoney disclosed.

Photo: Courtesy of Lantern