Big Rock Partners is a San Francisco based strategic advisory and consulting firm serving companies and investors. Focused on the intersection of cannabis, food and hospitality, we have supported many of the Bay Area’s leading brands, from company formation through to strategic growth capital. Big Rock Partners also owns and operates Sonoma Hills Farm, a premium craft cannabis farm and organic culinary garden nestled on 60-acres in Sonoma Valley’s Petaluma Gap appellation, one of the nation’s premier wine terroirs.

Mike Harden, Founder, Chief Executive Officer

Mike Harden is an experienced venture capitalist and entrepreneur with more than 20 years in the investment industry. He is founder and CEO at Big Rock Partners, a San Francisco based investment firm and family office dedicated to serving the cannabis, hospitality and wellness communities in California and beyond. Prior to joining Big Rock fulltime in 2020, Mike Harden was a founder and partner at Artis Ventures and helped lead the firm’s investments in Palantir, Modern Meadow, YouTube, Astra, ChefsFeed, Practice Fusion and others. Mike has served on numerous boards from hospitality and cannabis to tech and biotech and has spoken at major financial conferences such as the Milken Institute’s Global Conference and cannabis conferences like New West Summit. Prior to joining Big Rock full time in 2020, Harden was a founder and partner at ARTIS Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital company specializing in financing early-to-late stage investments in dynamic companies they can support throughout the company’s entire lifecycle. He holds a BA from Washington & Lee University and an MS from the FW Olin School of Business at Babson College.

Shauna Harden, Founder, Executive Producer

Shauna Harden is a passionate advocate of equity for women, minorities, and craft farmers who are champions of the wellness aspects of the plant. Via Big Rock Partners, Shauna supports hospitality and wellness businesses, non-profits, and passionate individuals driving positive change in the world. She is Executive Producer of Lady Buds, an award winning documentary film which follows six courageous women come out of the shadows of the cannabis underground to forge a path.

Joyce Cenali, Chief Operating Officer

Joyce Cenali is an accomplished sales, operations, and business development executive, with extensive experience in the cannabis industry. She began cultivating for personal use in her home garden in 2004, and later co-founded a cultivation project in the Sierra region. In 2016, her group won an Emerald Cup in the Dry Sieve category. She started personally investing prior to joining forces with Big Rock Partners, served as Fundraising Chair for Women Grow Sonoma, and has presented at industry events such as SXSW, CWCB, BevNetLive, SheCann, New West Summit, and more. She previously founded a boutique artist management firm, and led business development, licensing and partner integrations for e-commerce start-ups. She recently co-founded the Cannabis Media Council, a trade organization which is dedicated to using the power of mainstream media to uplift wholehearted, people-centered advertising campaigns that show positive experiences with cannabis in order to normalize and destigmatize across generations. A leading LGBT businesswoman, she was recognized by San Francisco Business Times as a Most Influential Woman in Bay Area Business for 2020. She holds a BA from Smith College.

Sam Magruder, Cultivation & Development Lead

Sam Magruder is a leader in cannabis cultivation & operations and real estate with over 20-years of experience cultivating sustainable, high quality cannabis in outdoor, mixed light and indoor environments. Separate from his cannabis experience, Sam was previously a residential real estate and land developer, operations lead for Ridgeholm Energy Partners and Black Mesa Energy, and hospitality business-owner. He holds a BS from Humboldt State University.

Values

Our diverse workforce engages in human empowerment, volunteerism, and support for various organizations and equality & justice initiatives. We donate over $50,000 annually in retail value to compassion programs in collaboration with dispensary partners and groups dedicated to supporting military veterans and at-risk communities. These are some of the organizations that we’ve supported through mentorship, land stewardship, in-kind product or financial donation over the years.

Companies We Have Supported