Brendan Kennedy (businessman)
Brendan Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Born | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, CEO |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | CEO and co-founder of Privateer Holdings; former CEO of Tilray |
Brendan Kennedy (born ) is an American entrepreneur, serving as CEO and co-founder of Privateer Holdings alongside Michael Blue and Christian Groh. He also held the position of CEO at Tilray in the past.
Early life and education
Born into a family of seven siblings in San Francisco, Kennedy is the sixth child. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1993. Subsequently, he earned a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Washington in 1995, followed by an MBA from Yale University in 2005.
Career
Before launching Privateer Holdings, Kennedy was employed at SVB Analytics, a division connected to Silicon Valley Bank, where his future co-founder, Christian Groh, also worked. In 2011, after personal exploration with cannabis, he established Privateer Holdings.
In 2014, he founded Tilray, which became one of Canada's pioneering licensed cannabis producers, initially operating under Privateer Holdings. The two companies merged in 2019. Kennedy remained as Tilray's CEO until his departure in 2020.
Personal life
Kennedy lives in Seattle and is a father of two. He has mentioned that one of the difficulties associated with his financial success was communicating it to his in-laws.
Net worth
Bloomberg estimated Kennedy’s net worth at $2.4 billion as of September 2018. His compensation from Tilray was $3.48 million in 2019, a decrease from $31.82 million the previous year. Due to a drop in Tilray’s stock value, his net worth was roughly $238 million by February 2021.