Career
After graduating from USC in 1990, Kazan became a special education teacher at LAUSD in 1991. Four years later, Kazan served in the patrol division of the Torrance Police Department with collateral assignments and training in gang enforcement and drugs recognition and eradication until 1999. [4] Throughout his tenure, he made arrests mainly for methamphetamine and heroin, with one cannabis arrest as a secondary charge to methamphetamine. [6]
Kazan began his real estate investment career with wife Diane Kazan in the late 1990s. [7] In 1997, Kazan and James B. Rosenwald co-founded Beach Front Properties, LLC., a real estate investment company based in southern California. Together their portfolio spans residential and commercial properties across the U.S., China and Germany with a focus on distressed properties, earning Kazan a reputation as a "vulture investor" [7] and expert in turning rundown properties into stable assets. [8] In 1999, Kazan left the police department and founded Beach Front Property Management, Inc., a third party property management company headquartered in Long Beach, CA. [4]
In addition to real estate investing, Kazan has also been involved in the management of venture capital. With Steve Persky from Dalton Investments, Kazan has co-managed the Dalton Distressed Mortgage Fund since 1997. [9] Kazan also has served as director of the Dalton High Yield Mortgage Fund since 2012 as well as Kings Bay Investment Company, Ltd since 2013. [10]
Beginning in 2016, Kazan created four cannabis-focused private equity funds targeting different aspects of the industry, including the first fund, named “AP Investment Fund,” in which the “AP” stood for “Anti-Prohibition.” [11]
In 2020, Kazan rolled these funds into Glass House Group, Inc., a vertically integrated cannabis company in California. [12] The company operates greenhouse cultivation facilities totaling approximately 6 million square feet in California, [13] with annual production capacity exceeding 600,000 pounds of cannabis. [14] The company operates retail locations and multiple cannabis brands across California, including Glass House Farms, PLUS, Allswell, Forbidden Flowers, FIELD, and Mama Sue Wellness. [15]
On June 29, 2021, Glass House Group, Inc. completed its go-public transaction through a business combination with Mercer Park Brand Acquisition Corp. and officially changed its name to Glass House Brands Inc., commencing trading on July 5, 2021. [16] As of 2025, the company trades on the OTCQX market under ticker symbol GLASF and on Cboe Canada as GLAS.A.U. [1] Kazan currently serves as the company's chairman and CEO.
Since December 2020, Glass House Brands has been working closely with the Weldon Project and MISSION [GREEN], a non-profit organization dedicated to ending federal prohibition of cannabis and achieving criminal justice reform for those convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related offenses, to advocate for policy change and clemency programs that address the lasting harm created by the War on Drugs. Glass House committed to spearheading fundraising initiatives for The Weldon Project as well as a campaign to petition the Biden administration to free all federal nonviolent cannabis prisoners. In December 2021, Kazan joins the Board of Directors of the Weldon Project and MISSION [GREEN]. [17] [18] Kyle is passionate about the human impacts of cannabis legislation and has called for action urging for the immediate release of nonviolent cannabis offenders. [19]
Glass House Brands enforcement actions
In July 2025, Glass House Brands facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria, California were subject to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations that resulted in 361 arrests. [27] Federal authorities reported that 14 minors were found in what they characterized as potential forced labor situations. [28] One worker, Jaime Alanis Garcia, died from injuries sustained during the operation after reportedly falling from a greenhouse roof. [29]
The company reported that 9 of its direct employees were detained, with the remaining individuals being employees of third-party labor contractors. [27] Following the enforcement action, Glass House Brands reported significant operational impacts, including projected Q3 2025 revenue of $35-38 million, representing a shortfall of $25-30 million from previous projections, and production declining to below 40% of typical capacity. [30]
In response, the company terminated contracts with two Farm Labor Contractors, engaged compliance consultants including former ICE Director Julie Myers Wood, implemented E-Verify for all employees, and signed a labor agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. [27] [29]
In February 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging labor law violations at Glass House facilities, including unpaid overtime, denial of meal and rest breaks, and lack of sick pay. [31]
