All-Star Advisors
Michael Asch
Chairman of the Advisory Board
Michael has been Founder and President of Anniston Capital, Inc., a private merchant banking firm engaged in mergers & acquisitions advisory services and private equity investments since 1992. Between 1993 and 2000, Michael also held the positions of President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director of American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq listed companies. Prior to founding Anniston Capital in 1992, Michael was an Associate in the investment banking division of Robert Fleming, Inc. and a Corporate Finance Analyst with Wertheim Schroder & Co. Incorporated. He has also served on the board of numerous privately held companies and non-profit organizations. Michael received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
Michael’s role in Keneh Ventures is to advise the members of the Manager and General Partner with respect to governance and GP/LP issues, sourcing transactions, fund management, due diligence and seeking/executing exit opportunities.
Christian Sederberg, Esq.
Legal Advisor
Christian Sederberg, Esq., is a partner and founding member of Vicente Sederberg LLC. After graduating from the University of Colorado School of Law, Christian focused his practice on representing businesses with a primary focus on real estate, private equity, commercial, and corporate transactions. Since the inception of Colorado's state-regulated medical marijuana program, Christian and the firm have provided a wide range of real estate, transactional and regulatory assistance to the marijuana community. Christian was also an integral part of Colorado's Amendment 64 campaign, acting as core volunteer for the campaign, representing the campaign on Governor Hickenlooper's Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force, and leading the campaign's legislative implementation team in the Colorado legislature by coordinating the implementation of the Colorado legislative and regulatory structure related to adult-use marijuana. Christian sat on the executive committee of the Committee for Responsible Regulation, which coordinated the campaign to establish statewide excise and sales taxes on the sale of adult-use marijuana in Colorado.
Keith Stroup, J.D.
Legal Advisor
Keith Stroup, J.D., is a Washington, DC public-interest attorney who founded NORML in 1970. Stroup obtained his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois in 1965, and in 1968 he graduated from Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC. Stroup first smoked marijuana when he was a first-year law student and has been a regular smoker since. Following two years as staff counsel for the National Commission on Product Safety, a job that allowed him to avoid the Vietnam War with a critical skills deferment, Stroup founded NORML and ran the organization through 1979, during which time 11 states decriminalized minor marijuana offenses. Stroup has also practiced criminal law, lobbied on Capitol Hill for family farmers and artists, and for several years served as executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), In 1994 Stroup resumed his work with NORML, rejoining the board of directors and serving again as Executive Director through 2004. He is currently NORML’s Legal Counsel. In 1992 Stroup was the recipient of the Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform presented by the Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, DC. In 2010 he received the Al Horn Award for Advancing the Cause of Justice from the NORML Legal Committee. And in 2012 Stroup received the High Times Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013 Stroup published the history of NORML entitled It’s NORML To Smoke Pot: the 40 Year Fight for Marijuana Smokers’ Rights.
Peter Calfee
Intellectual Property Advisor​
Peter Calfee, is a health-technology entrepreneur and investor, specializing in fundraising and the realization of operational efficiencies, organization-wide. Peter is an original founder at Gofire, a life-science focused initiative, laying the framework for the future of alternative health. He believes research-based initiatives are the only way to unlock the inherent value of alternative medicine, and intends to continue laying new clinical frameworks that validate the medicinal efficacy of phytomedicine. He intends to leverage his keen understanding of molecular science to further clinical research initiatives surrounding phytopharmaceuticals. Peter has more than 9 years of experience in the life sciences and alternative health industry, and is a private equity investor of multiple wellness-based companies. Peter’s focus on structure and organizational development has helped develop multiple Colorado start-up companies, including a medical device company and an alternative health research facility. He also sits on the steering committee of Skipta, a physician’s network of 800,000+ licensed practitioners. Peter is a process-oriented entrepreneur, and more specifically, a creator of refined, efficient systems for one of the fastest-growing capital marketplaces in the world. Peter’s life work is dedicated to leaving a societal impact through innovation. He intends to continue applying his experience to the development of solutions that improve humanity’s well being.
Dave Rabinowitz
Real Estate Acquisitions Advisor
Dave Rabinowitz initiated his career in 1985 with Houlihan-Parnes Realtors (HPR) in New York. During his tenure, Dave held several key positions including the sale of commercial real estate, as well as property/portfolio acquisitions. He was a vital member of the Houlihan-Parnes acquisition group for 15+ years, selecting and analyzing assets for their real estate portfolio. In 1993, Dave created H-P Capital, LLC (HPC) for the partners of Houlihan-Parnes in order to manage their vastly expanding holdings. HPC’s loan portfolio consisted of a diverse range of real estate lending instruments. Dave operated H-P Capital, LLC while the company serviced in excess of $2B of both commercial and residential loans. During that time, many loans were purchased from banks and other financial institutions, and H-P Capital, LLC itself originated in excess of $600M of private “hard money” loans. He served as an integral part of the senior underwriting team for the private mortgage lending program and personally arranged more than $200M in bridge loans and private financing. Working in Las Vegas over the past 6 years, Dave has originated and funded more than 100 loans in Nevada and California. Additionally, he has renovated and flipped over a dozen homes, acquiring and managing a portfolio of high-end luxury condominium units. His current real estate areas of expertise include private lending, acquisitions of both residential and commercial property, as well as the purchase of non-performing debt.
Steven O'Connell
Financial Advisor
In 1981, Steven embarked on a distinguished Wall Street career, immersing himself in the intricate realms of international institutional fixed-income trading and sales. His adeptness was recognized which led him to secure positions at several preeminent firms that cast impressive shadows over the financial landscapes of the Eighties and Nineties, thereby cementing his expertise in the domains of high finance and capital markets.
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However, it was in the pivotal year of 1993 that Steven's acumen truly flourished as he co-founded and assumed the mantle of Chairman and CEO at the Northstar Group, Inc. This exclusive boutique international investment bank, strategically headquartered across Greenwich, CT; London; and Zurich, meticulously honed its focus on institutional fixed-income trading and sales. Notably, Northstar's purview extended beyond trading prowess, encompassing the intricate capital requisites of burgeoning early and mid-stage private and public enterprises, spanning sectors such as medical technology, medical devices, alternative energy, sophisticated analytical software (SAS), and the ever-critical arena of cybersecurity. Under Steven's stewardship, the Northstar Group's annual deal flow grew to an excess of $4 billion, bearing witness to his strategic prowess and financial finesse. His distinguished tenure culminated with his retirement in 2014, leaving an indelible imprint on the financial landscapes he traversed.
Chef Chris Lanter
Culinary Cannabis Advisor
Chris has been an advocate for the legalization of cannabis for his entire adult life. From Atlanta, GA he pursued his culinary passion in France and was classically trained at Chez Toutoune in Paris under Chef Philippe Deschamps for nearly two years. Chris began his cannabis culinary career in 2005 when he became the chef for NORML’s annual Aspen Legal Seminar. He was selected as the chef for the Native Roots - Pairing Dinner during the 2015 Winter XGames, which was the first legally sanctioned cannabis pairing event in modern American history. Chef Lanter was featured in an episode of the Vice Media production, “Munchies Series: Cannabis Dinner,” and his recipes have been featured in High Times Magazine, and added to the Vice Munchies Bong Appétit cookbook. Chris has also been a four-time Cannabis Judge for High Times Denver Cup.
An Aspen, CO resident since 1997, Chef Chris Lanter is the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Cache Cache restaurant, located in Aspen, CO and Operating Partner of Home Team BBQ - Aspen, located on Buttermilk Mountain.