Kim Rael

Kim is President and CEO of Azuca, a culinary technology company focused on commercializing innovative technology to enable fast-acting, highly bioavailable culinary cannabis products for the legal cannabis market. Prior to Azuca, Kim spent over 10 years as a venture capitalist investing in early stage technology companies. Previously, Kim co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of advanced energy company Qynergy. Earlier in her career, Kim held numerous senior level positions at Intel, where she managed a $200 million capital budget and $1 billion program plan. Her former experience as an aide in the U.S. Senate allowed for a deep understanding of the public sector, specifically in foreign affairs, and science and technology policy.

Kim currently sits on the Board of Regents for The University of New Mexico, is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Women’s Forum and was recently appointed to the National Cannabis Industry Association’s 2019-2020 State Regulations Committee (SRC). Her previous board experience includes a five-year tenure as Officer on the New Mexico State Board of Finance. She has been featured as New Mexico Business Weekly Power Broker and Top 10 Women of Influence. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford.

Recognizing a gap in the cannabis industry for trustworthy and predictable edibles, Kim teamed up with renowned chef Ron Silver to develop and launch Azuca in 2018.