James Choe

CARLSBAD, USA // James Choe serves as Chief Strategy Officer for Flora Growth (NASDAQ: FLGC). He joined Flora’s executive team in January 2022. His latest venture, Vessel was acquired in November 2021 by Flora Growth.

Prior to the acquisition, James was the Founder/CEO of Vessel, a community-led company that uplifts the cannabis consumption experience with its luxury accessories including a high-end line of vape and dry-herb accessories. Through Choe’s leadership, Vessel and Flora alike, base their principles on what matters most: people, design, and community. Choe’s sincere people-first approach hinges on building highly effective teams and encouraging a collaborative spirit to create memorable experiences for the consumer.

Originally from Saratoga, CA, Choe attended San Diego State University. During college at age 18, Choe got his first taste of the start-up life with broadband pioneer, Softnet in Mountain View, CA. After launching the brand to success and growing to more than 400 employees, Choe left to pursue his heart’s passion – a career in the sports industry where he would represent athletes in the Olympics, NFL, MLB, NHL, Lacrosse and Action Sports for over 12 years.

Next, melding an interest in marketing with his love of sports, Choe led marketing initiatives as VP of Sports/Retail Marketing at SKLZ for some of the world’s largest retailers including Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Sports Authority.

Choe went on to found DRVN Partners, a go-to-market firm with extensive experience growing early-stage companies, specializing in supporting high-growth companies with brand, creative, e-commerce and retail strategy and execution. Choe has mentored and consulted over 100 brands to date, while he has also led the design, development and successful launch of more than 700 products across several categories.

Choe’s success caught the eye of some early movers and shakers in the cannabis industry and was brought on to build one of the top cannabis brands in California. From there, Choe saw an opportunity not only to support others in building significant value but eventually to build his own brand. Enter: Vessel.

In 2018, Choe launched Vessel with a focus on creating a synergistic environment to inspire both the people within the company and the consumer. To create the best consumer experience at all touchpoints, Vessel accessories are conceived and designed in-house with engineering support from strategic partners.