Episode
EP 211: Why Cannabis Is Just a Side Project for the World's Biggest Companies
- Published
- May 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2307
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Summary
In this episode of the Cannabis Accounting Podcast, host Raymond Guns sits down with Nick Kenny, Founder of KBS Strategic Advisory, to pull back the curtain on how the world's largest, most established companies have been quietly studying — and entering — cannabis for nearly a decade. Nick spent 18 months inside Imperial Brands educating a FTSE-listed boardroom on cannabis before anyone could say the word publicly. That work led to real investments, a career pivot, and eventually to KBS — a consultancy built around one idea: helping highly regulated, mature industries navigate entry into highly regulated, immature ones. Nick opens up about: 🚬 The question that started everything: In 2015, the president of Imperial Brands walked into Nick's North Carolina office and asked what he knew about cannabis. Nick's first instinct was to check for hidden cameras. What followed was 18 months of global research, boardroom education, and a career-defining move. 🌍 Winning the stigma battle before the business case: The biggest obstacle wasn't regulations or financials. It was that every executive in the room had a personal history with the plant. Nick's solution: fly senior leaders to Colorado and Vegas to walk into legal dispensaries themselves. Seeing a branded, ID-checked retail environment next to a bakery changed the conversation entirely. 🏢 What pubcos actually want from cannabis: Large companies avoid cultivation — they don't want to own grows. What they want is end product: brands, IP, velocity, and distribution leverage. And their first play is almost always the same. ⚖️ The Proceeds of Crime Act problem: In the UK, even exploring cannabis investment had legal landmines. Nick mapped red/amber/green pathways just to figure out which routes wouldn't expose Imperial to crimina…