David Paleschuck is a brand strategist, author, and advisor specializing in wellness and regulated markets. For over two decades, he has helped founders, operators, and executive teams transform emerging brands into structured, defensible growth platforms—built not just to launch, but to scale.
Before focusing on high-growth and regulated categories, David held senior marketing and strategy roles at global brands including American Express, Mastercard, PepsiCo, and Microsoft. There, he developed deep expertise in brand positioning, portfolio strategy, customer acquisition, and data-driven marketing—experience he now applies to founder-led and emerging companies navigating complex markets.
He is the author of Branding Bud, Cannabis vs. Marijuana, and The Cannabis Brand Licensing Bible, and the creator of the Cannabis Brand Licensing Accelerator™, a structured program guiding single-state brands through disciplined multi-state expansion. His work centers on one core belief: a brand is not a logo or a campaign—it is an asset. And assets must be engineered to travel.
David advises companies across cannabis, CPG, and broader wellness categories on brand architecture, IP strategy, licensing models, and go-to-market execution. Known for blending strategic clarity with operational realism, he challenges teams to confront hard questions about readiness, replicability, and long-term enterprise value.
His mission is simple: help brands infuse meaning into their products and services—and build them strong enough to endure beyond any single market, moment, or trend.
As Founder of the Branding Bud Consulting Group, he consults on many aspects of legal cannabis to those both currently in the industry and to those wanting to enter it. David teaches Branding & Marketing in Oaksterdam’s Business Department.