Former Tribune CEO tapped to chair board of suburban pot company

Former Chicago media maven Tony Hunter was named chairman of the board Thursday of a multi-state cannabis firm headquartered in west suburban Elmhurst.

Hunter spent more than two decades at the Tribune Company and served as the Chicago Tribune’s publisher and chief executive from 2008 until 2016. He was named Revolution Enterprise’s board chairman as the burgeoning pot firm prepares to expand into the recreational marijuana market in Illinois and beyond, according to a statement from the company.

Hunter told the Sun-Times he was introduced to Revolution CEO Mark de Souza through his work as an adviser for a client in the nutraceutical industry. A longtime proponent of homeopathic medicine, Hunter said he was drawn to the company’s “science-based approach.”

“I was very impressed by [Revolution’s] passion and their commitment to social and economic vitality. I saw them as an up and coming player in the sector,” said Hunter, who became a medical cannabis advocate after seeing how the drug benefitted friends and family members diagnosed with cancer and other chronic illnesses.

Revolution currently runs a cultivation center in downstate Delavan and a dispensary in Mount Prospect, and has expanded its operations to Florida and Arkansas. De Souza said Revolution’s hiring of Hunter is “beyond a coup.”

“His integrity and focus on profitability, coupled with disciplined corporate governance, uniquely matches our board chair needs as we enter this next chapter in Revolution’s evolution,” de Souza said.