J. SMOKE WALLIN

Managing Director, STS Capital Partners, Exec Chair & Founder Taliera, Exec Chair & Co-Founder, Vertical Wellness

Smoke is a highly accomplished CEO, entrepreneur, leader, board member and philanthropist with leadership across the consumer products, beverage, cannabis, hospitality, health & wellness, distribution, M&A, and technology industries. Smoke is Co-Founder & Director of DignityMoves.Org created to end unsheltered street homelessness in our communities by building Interim Supportive Housing with rapid, cost-effective, scalable solutions.

Smoke serves as MD/partner at STS Capital a global boutique investment bank focused on M&A. He serves as Chair of Taliera, a company he founded in 2006 to incubate and celebrate iconic beverage brands. He is Chair/Co-Founder of Vertical Wellness a health & wellness brand company. Smoke serves on the boards of publicly traded cannabis firms, Adastra and Vencanna (CSE: XTRX.CN and VENI.CN).

He has led >$1.7 billion in M&A, deals and financings, publicly and privately. Smoke helped build National Wine & Spirits (merged into $12.5B RNDC) into one of the largest distributors of beer, wine and spirits in the US and served as Chair/Pres. of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA). He has been an active leader in YPO Young President Organization and is incoming Chair for YPO’s Pacific One chapter. He regularly contributes to CNBC’s Fast Money, Closing Bell and Nightly Business Report, Fox Business’ Varney & Co., and CNN Headline News.

Smoke earned an MBA @Vanderbilt and a BS in Ag Ec @Cornell, wrestled and Sigma Nu. He is an Eagle Scout & father of two Eagle Scout sons and two amazing daughters, who all, most importantly, are good humans. He lives with his singer/songwriter wife Anitra in Ventura, CA