The people behind North Star

Professional biography

Sudhir Singh is the founder and principal catalyst behind North Star Cannabinoid Health Foundation. He earned his degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in 1986 and built an international professional foundation through work in India, Africa, and Europe before making Minnesota his home in 1993. Over the course of his career, he has developed experience in technology, project and program leadership, operations, human-resource management, business development, construction, energy efficiency, and organizational growth.

His career has included senior leadership and project work with major organizations including Pillsbury, Honeywell, UnitedHealth Group, Best Buy, Seagate, 3M, Medtronic, and Boston Scientific. He is also a certified project manager and has spent much of his career bringing people, technology, and execution together around complex business needs.

In 2009, Sudhir founded the LHU group of companies in Minnesota. Through its businesses, he has worked across construction, energy-efficiency and smart-technology solutions, security, facility improvement, and related technical services. Founder-provided materials describe the group as serving a broad and diverse customer base in the Minneapolis area and building relationships across public, private, and community sectors. His work in energy efficiency and smart technology also reflects a long-standing interest in sustainability, practical innovation, and solutions that improve how people live and work.

That combination of entrepreneurial experience, technical training, community relationships, and an interest in holistic living shapes his role at North Star. Sudhir's focus is to build the Foundation carefully from the beginning: with credible people, transparent governance, evidence-informed education, meaningful community programs, and a long-term commitment to responsible innovation.

Why this mission

Sudhir's interest in North Star grows naturally from his long-standing interest in emerging technology, sustainability, holistic living, and building practical systems around new opportunities. As Minnesota entered a new phase of cannabis regulation, he saw a need for something more durable than a commercial venture: a trusted organization that could help people understand cannabinoid health through science, education, community dialogue, and responsible leadership.

His vision is to bring physicians, researchers, veterans, technical professionals, business leaders, and community partners around the same table, and build public-benefit programs. For Sudhir, North Star is an opportunity to help shape an emerging field with discipline, transparency, and a genuine community purpose.

Professional biography

Binay Singh is a business and technology leader with more than 25 years of experience building teams, managing complex programs, developing business, and translating strategy into execution. His professional background spans business planning, operations management, financial management, P&L and budgeting, technology marketing, customer development, program and portfolio management, process improvement, governance, risk management, vendor management, and large-scale technology implementation.

Throughout his career, Binay has led business-development, sales, technology, information-systems, operations, and administrative teams across domestic and international environments. His experience includes enterprise software design and deployment, cost and capacity planning, vendor selection, change and release management, system integration, and the development of new solutions and proof-of-concept initiatives with business stakeholders.

Binay has also worked in an entrepreneurial environment. Founder-provided materials describe his role in establishing and growing a software startup from its early stages into a revenue-generating business, including raising multi-million-dollar private funding to support product development and helping drive sustained sales growth. That experience gives him a practical understanding of how to move an idea from concept to operating model, build teams around it, manage financial discipline, and create partnerships that support long-term growth.

At North Star, Binay's experience is especially relevant to strategy, operating structure, governance, partnerships, program execution, and financial sustainability. He brings the perspective of someone who has spent his career managing complexity while keeping attention on measurable outcomes, stakeholder trust, and the systems needed for responsible growth.

Why this mission

Binay's professional career has been built around creating structures in complex and fast-changing environments. The cannabinoid field presents many of the same challenges: strong public interest, rapidly developing science, evolving regulation, and a need for organizations that can separate credible information from hype.

North Star offers an opportunity to apply his strategy and operations experience to a mission where disciplined governance, reliable education, partnerships, and measurable community impact matter from the beginning. His proposed role is not to position cannabis as a cure-all, but to help build an organization capable of asking the right questions, using evidence responsibly, and creating programs that can earn trust over time.

Professional biography

Biju Meethaleveedu began his career in India, working in fashion and advertising sales before moving into architectural materials, where he sold reflective glass to architects. After relocating to the United States, he transitioned into logistics and was part of the team that implemented a modern inventory management system for the operation.

His entrepreneurial path started in e-commerce and led to the founding of ventures spanning technology, logistics, and agriculture — building and operating multiple businesses across different sectors.

Founding Nourish Veda, a holistic wellness initiative rooted in traditional health practices, deepened his interest in how evidence, tradition, and everyday well-being connect. That experience shaped his approach at North Star: practical systems, careful sourcing, and respect for the reader's ability to make informed decisions.

At North Star, Biju leads technology and digital strategy, applying artificial intelligence to research that serves human well-being. His focus is on digital tools and educational resources that hold a high standard: rigorous, reproducible methodology, transparent sources, and clear labels for what is and is not known.

His work is carried out in coordination with the Foundation's regulatory and compliance function, helping ensure that North Star's digital platforms, public communications, and partnerships are developed in alignment with applicable Minnesota requirements, Office of Cannabis Management guidance, and nonprofit governance expectations.

Why this mission

Biju's career has crossed industries — fashion and advertising sales, architectural materials, logistics, e-commerce, and agriculture — but a common thread runs through all of it: building practical systems that serve people. Founding Nourish Veda, a holistic wellness initiative rooted in traditional health practices, deepened his interest in how evidence, tradition, and everyday well-being connect.

As Minnesota shapes its approach to cannabinoid regulation, he saw a field where trustworthy, clearly sourced information is scarce and badly needed. At North Star, his focus is applying his technology and AI experience to research and digital tools that hold a high standard: rigorous, reproducible methodology, transparent sources, and education that respects the reader's ability to make informed decisions.

Professional biography

Jason serves as a founding advisor to North Star on medical and scientific matters. He is a physician.

His full profile will be published as his advisory role is formalized.

Professional biography

Trey Lachiocotte serves as a founding advisor to North Star on veteran and community programs. He is a U.S. Army veteran.

His full profile will be published as his advisory role is formalized.