Archytas Ventures, an investment holding company that provides strategic capital solutions to the emerging and underfunded cannabis industry, announced the appointment of Brooke Hayes as a Partner and its first COO. The move will see the private equity and investment banking veteran with experience across the financial services, tech-driven manufacturing and oil and gas sectors transition to the fast-growing cannabis space. Hayes will be based in the firm's New York office.

"Brooke's more than 20-year career will be a tremendous value add in helping our up-and-coming portfolio companies access the capital markets and prosper," said David Kivitz, co-founder of Archytas Ventures. "His deep expertise in early stage and mid-sized companies, along with his strategic and operational leadership, are a great addition to our already impressive team."

Hayes was previously a Partner and COO at Milestone Partners, a middle market private equity firm focused on the financial services, tech-enabled solutions and tech-driven manufacturing sectors. During his 15 years at Milestone, the firm managed over $650 million of original capital commitments and closed over 30 platform transactions. Earlier in his career, Hayes was an Associate in the Technology Services Group at JPMorgan H&Q. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics, and MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

"My background is highly complementary to the Archytas team, and we share a vision for creating value in the cannabis industry," said Mr. Hayes. "I look forward to executing on the numerous growth opportunities in front of us today."