Social entrepreneurship may well be giving business a good name. In this University podcast, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, advocates for "conscious business” that is in service not just to the profit margin but also to helping others, striving for excellence, fulfilling a higher purpose, and changing and improving the world. Speaking as part of the View from the Top Lecture Series to an audience of Stanford MBA students, Mackey discusses his own company’s growing pains and his embrace of the social entrepreneurship paradigm.
John Mackey opened a small health food store in Austin, Texas, in 1978, which in 1980 merged with another local natural foods store to form the foundation on which Whole Foods Market was born. Mackey has led Whole Foods Market since the beginning through mergers and internal development to create a Fortune 500 company. His business philosophy is to act with care and responsibility toward all of the various stakeholder groups of the company and to operate Whole Foods Market with social and environmental responsibility. Mackey was named 2003 Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and has been honored by top-tier publications for his business sense and philanthropic values.
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This free podcast is from our Stanford Discussions series.
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