"We are extremely pleased to partner with Steep Hill Illinois' passionate and visionary team," said Nigel Stobart, Steep Hill CEO. "With their success in serial business ventures and commitment to patient and consumer safety with testing, we believe we will see this group expand their horizons quickly." 

Steep Hill is known for its consistency of quality testing, customized technology, and state-of-the-art equipment. The company is dedicated to providing best-in-class customer service and has been the innovation leader driving a nascent testing industry forward for the last 13 years.

Steep Hill Illinois is led by a team of experienced, reliable cannabis industry veterans combined with successful entrepreneurs, strategists and investors.

Driving strategy and business development, as well as government and regulatory issues, is co-founder Nick Etten. Etten, an Illinois native, is a nationally recognized cannabis industry veteran who brings several years of sector experience. He most recently served on the executive leadership team at Acreage Holdings, a multistate cannabis operator (MSO), where he led government affairs, policy, and strategy as the SVP of external affairs. Etten also founded the Veterans Cannabis Project, which focuses on changing the conversation about veterans' access to medical cannabis. 

Co-founder John Tinsley will drive strategy with Etten and focus on business operations, partner relations, launching the Illinois lab and growth into other markets. Tinsley comes to the business after two decades in consulting, where he most recently was a partner with EY-Parthenon, a global strategy consultancy. His expertise in growth strategy, market development, mergers and acquisitions, and operational transformation will be instrumental to a successful launch in Illinois.

Co-founder Matt Grabowski will lead finance and non-laboratory operations. Matt has successfully launched several businesses nationally in the fitness, health, and waste management sectors. His experience in building businesses, transactions, and financial structuring will be invaluable towards scaling operations.

Steep Hill Illinois will be available to support laboratory and other production activities in 2022. "We are currently building out the lab, which will be strategically placed in Ottawa, Illinois, within a 90-minute drive of the largest MSOs in Illinois," Tinsley said. Leveraging the Steep Hill platform, Steep Hill Illinois will provide the full-screen of Illinois regulated tests, including cannabinoids, pesticides, heavy metals and more.

"We will also provide research and development testing services for cultivators and processors, supporting our partners in the development of new products and supporting their growth," he added.