Jamie Mendola

Head of Strategy and M&A for AYR Wellness

Jamie Mendola is the Head of Strategy and M&A for AYR Wellness, a publicly-traded cannabis multi-state operator (MSO) with operations in 8 states. He was part of the founding team that has transformed AYR from a 2-state operator into the 6th largest cannabis company in the United States.  Jamie leads AYR’s strategic growth teams including acquisitions, license applications, and brand partnerships. Jamie was also a co-founder of the Mercer Park SPAC transaction that culminated in a deal with Glass House Group, a large vertical operator in California, where he remains a board member.  

Prior to joining Mercer Park, Jamie was the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Pacific Grove Capital, a $300 million hedge fund focused primarily on investments in consumer, payments, technology and cannabis. He also managed the Pacific Grove Opportunity Fund, which focused on special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and was one of the top performing hedge funds since its inception. Pacific Grove was named the best new hedge fund by Hedge Funds Review in 2015 and Jamie received accolades from Institutional Investor as a Hedge Fund Rising Star and was named as one of Tomorrow’s Titans by The Hedge Fund Journal. 

Prior to founding Pacific Grove in 2014, Jamie was a Partner at Scout Capital, which had AUM of approximately $7 billion. He was a senior member of the firm’s Investment and Risk Committees and helped to build Scout’s Palo Alto office. Previously, Jamie worked as a Principal of Watershed Asset Management, a private equity analyst at JLL Partners and an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase. 

Jamie graduated with a B.S. in Management, summa cum laude, from Binghamton University in 1999, where he was also a 4-year letter-winner in Baseball, and earned his M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 2005. He resides in San Francisco with his wife and four young sons.