Stevie Palmateer, Chief Technology Officer at LeafLink, was honored for her leadership in cannabis technology at the Green Market Report Women in Cannabis Awards in New York last month. Palmateer’s work at LeafLink has contributed significantly to the advancement of payment solutions and engineering class in the industry.
Palmatier, who has 15 years of experience in technology and computer science, joined the cannabis wholesale platform in late 2020 because she was attracted to the opportunity to contribute to social and cultural change through technology, she said.
“I wanted to move into an industry that was focused on helping people,” Palmatier told Green Market Report. “I have a lot of personal experience with the therapeutic translation of plant medicines, and I also wanted to be a part of helping right the wrongs of the war on drugs.”
At LeafLink, Palmateer oversees a team of 50 full-time employees and manages enterprise, platform, product engineering, and IT operations. One of her proudest accomplishments is the rollout of the company’s Flex and Direct Pay payment products.
“Building the team and product to achieve our go-to-market plan in six months was an extremely tight timeline with limited access to third parties like Stripe,” she explained.
Palmateer’s focus on engineering excellence has led to other notable improvements in LeafLink’s operations.
“We have seen improvements in our Net Promoter Scores, change failure rates and cycle times, while also advancing our roadmap for groundbreaking improvements to Direct Pay and the rollout of new payment programs,” she said.
But Palmateer’s journey hasn’t been without its bumps: Like many companies in the tech and cannabis industries, LeafLink faced economic headwinds that forced it to make tough decisions.
“A good leader is someone who has the ability to say no and make tough decisions,” Palmatier reflects. “Tough times have helped us emerge as a stronger LeafLink 2.0.”
Palmateer is optimistic about the industry’s future, especially regarding the possibility of cannabis being reregulated.
“I’m very interested to see how the rescheduling will impact the industry in theory and in practice,” she said. While acknowledging that the rescheduling alone won’t solve all of the industry’s challenges, Palmatier hopes it will spur further reforms, particularly when it comes to access to capital.
