Suzanne is a successful entrepreneur, investor, board member, and consultant. She is a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She was the recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year and Woman of the Year awards in Los Angeles for the training and communications firm she and her partner grew in the 1990’s. After she sold her business, she was a partner in award-winning green marketing firm, MusicMatters for several years. In 2004, Suzanne founded a nonprofit focused on engaging businesses in getting out the vote, called Voteworks, and co-managed the national nonprofit November 2 campaign. Suzanne is an active member of Investors' Circle and Social Venture Network, is Vice Chair of the Board of Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles, and is on the advisory board of the Sustainable Business Council of LA. She is also on the board of the Fourth Sector Network. Her current consulting as a Catalyst at Large spans strategy work with the green publishing company Greenopia: the urban dweller’s guide to green living, the launch of a green restaurant in Los Angeles with one of the top organic/sustainable chefs in the country, sitting on the investment committee of a new angel venture fund focused on sustainability, acting as emcee for the Investors’ Circle venture fair, and much more. Most importantly, Suzanne is a connector of dots, people, and projects. Suzanne holds degrees from the Wharton School as well as the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives Marina del Rey with her husband, Daniel Maskit, who is a Technical Director for the visual effects company Digital Domain, and who is a true renaissance man and the love of her life.
Nancy Brown is a private investor and rancher from a Texas ranching family. She has an instinctual gift for discovering high energy land and retreat properties of sanctuary, then keeping or selling them in the spirit of conservation and stewardship.
Nancy’s web-weaving talents include catalyzing, visioning, orchestrating and connecting people, ideas and actions, and hosting salons. Currently, she has become the godmother of the CSSC (California Student Sustainability Coalition www.sustainabilitycoalition.org) and is mentoring and supporting this network of students and graduates to green the school systems of California and engage young people in system changes.
She holds certificates in permaculture (sustainable agriculture), Feng Shui, Soul Coaching, Search & Rescue, and also serves as an advisor, coach, and muse. Other areas of interest are the environment, sustainable community, women’s issues, Native American issues, holistic health and nutrition, alternative medicine, organics, politics, and art.
She has served on the boards of Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board, Girls Inc. of Santa Barbara, The Environmental Defense Center, the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, the University of California Santa Barbara Affiliates and DNC Women’s Leadership Circle. Memberships include Investors’ Circle, founding member Women’s Capital Circle, and Social Venture Network.
Michael Cox was born and raised in Hemet, CA and is dedicated to family and community. Passionate about combining organizing and entrepreneurship, Michael generates opportunities for young leaders to proactively and positively impact their world, and become better people in the process. Michael became involved with the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC) through establishing the Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) and co-founding the UCLA chapter, and he now serves as Chair of the Executive Committee. He serves on the board of Computer Prompting Services, Inc., and provides consulting on communications, leadership, and strategy. Graduated cum laude from UCLA in 2006 with College Honors and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, International Relations. Loves home cooking, cacti and epic hikes.
Randy Eisenman operates at the intersection of his passions of investing, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. He is a founding partner of Satori Capital, a private equity firm that invests in profitable, growing, sustainable businesses. The firm partners with management teams to accelerate the growth of companies that are "built to last" and meet a set of criteria that the firm describes as sustainability. These sustainable businesses operate with a commitment to the flourishing of all stakeholders; are driven by strong values and a mission or purpose; and evaluate decisions with a long-term horizon in mind.
Prior to founding Satori Capital, Mr. Eisenman spent ten years at Q Investments, a multi-billion dollar private investment firm founded by two former investment advisors to the Bass Family. Mr. Eisenman launched the firm’s private equity business and served as a Partner for seven years. He was the youngest to be named Partner in the history of the firm at age 25.
While at Q Investments, Mr. Eisenman founded Handango to capitalize on the emerging mobile content market. Stepping into an operating role as president and chief executive officer, Mr. Eisenman drove the company’s strategy and built a world-class team, positioning Handango as the global leader in the smartphone content market. Handango won numerous awards including being named to the Inc. 500; being named one of the “Best Companies to Work for in America”; and named to the Top 101 Classic Web Sites by PC Magazine. Mr. Eisenman was named as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of The Year for 2004. In 2007, Mr. Eisenman hired a CEO for Handango and now serves as a board member, guiding the company in a variety of areas including corporate strategy, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions.
Prior to joining Q Investments, Mr. Eisenman worked as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs & Co. in the Principal Investments Area, which manages the firm’s private equity funds and investments. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Eisenman focused on venture capital, growth equity, and leveraged buyouts in a variety of industries. In earlier positions, he worked as a financial analyst at Bear Stearns with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, and at HBK Investments, one of the world’s largest hedge funds.
Today, Mr. Eisenman is involved in a variety of organizations that leverage his skills and passions. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Stagen, a management consulting firm specializing in building sustainable mid-market companies. He is a member of Investor’s Circle, a community of for-profit social entrepreneurs and investors. Mr. Eisenman is a member of the Board of Directors of FLOW, and he’s also a member of Social Venture Network, two nonprofits committed to building a just and sustainable world through business.
Mr. Eisenman is actively involved in Young Presidents Organization (YPO) where he serves as the North America Co-Chairman of the organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility Network. Additionally, Mr. Eisenman serves on the TCU Entrepreneurial Program Advisory Board. He also serves on the Finance and Sustainability Committees of the Fort Worth Country Day School Board of Trustees.
Mr. Eisenman holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Texas where he graduated with high honors from the Business Honors Program. Mr. Eisenman lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, Jennifer, their son, Aidan, and their daughter, Avery.
He has 35 years of business experience ranging from large consumer package goods organization such as Coca-Cola (Senior VP, Coca-Cola USA) to smaller businesses. From 1995 on, he focused his energies on a variety of social issues ranging from International Relief and Development (Special assistant to the President of CARE www.care.org), Conscientious Commerce (Chair of Ben and Jerry’s continuing board www.benjerry.com, board member of Small Enterprise Assistance Funds www.seafweb.org whose mission is to provide equity financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, emerging markets and in countries undergoing economic transition. He is also chair of the Advisory Council for The Emory Ethics Center www.emory.ethics.edu. He sits on the board an Atlanta non-profit that raise funds for Maji Mazuri (www.majimazuri.org.) a Kenyan organization whose mission is to help people escape from the bondage of poverty, ignorance and myth and become fully developed individuals.
Pierre is involved in several for profits initiatives. He is an investor, director and is VP -Marketing for Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products, a company that combines scaled reforestation in South America, the reparation of many small communities and the marketing of Guayaki yerba mate (www.guayaki.com.) He is president of “Hot Fudge” social venture capital fund, a community development venture capital fund whose purpose is to use venture capital to create jobs, entrepreneurial capacity and wealth that advance the livelihoods and wealth opportunities of low-income people and the economies of distressed communities.
Pierre is also partner in a boutique communication firm, Tula Communications, whose focus is to be agents for ideas. He also sits on the board of a private logistics company Arrowstream, Inc. (www.arrowstream.com)
Pierre holds a Masters degree in Economics from The University of Cambridge and a MBA (1976) from Harvard Business School. He has two sons, engaged to Kimberly, in awe of two stepdaughters, reads voraciously, and enjoys squash and golf.
Walt Freese is the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s and has worked at Celestial Seasons during its strong years of growth.
Jeff Furman has been with Ben & Jerry's since it started serving in various roles including the Board of Directors. He is also a trustee at Ben & Jerry's Foundation. He works in the social justice arena with particular emphasis on worker's rights and educational equity issues.
B Lab envisions a new sector of the economy which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit. This sector is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B CorporationTM – which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. B CorporationsTM 1) meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards; 2) institutionalize stakeholder interests; and 3) build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.
The mission of B Lab, a non-profit organization, is to support B CorporationsTM and this emerging sector by 1) certifying and rating B CorporationsTM; 2) disseminating a legal framework to institutionalize stakeholder interests within existing corporate law; 3) promoting a powerful unifying brand; and 4) fostering mission-align capital markets.
Prior to B Lab, despite having no game, Jay co-founded and sold AND 1, a $250M
basketball footwear and apparel company based outside Philadelphia. Jay led AND
1’s product and marketing for most of his 13 years and was AND 1’s CEO during its
period of most rapid growth.
Jay is vice-chair of Investors’ Circle, an organization dedicated to the accelerating the development of patient capital markets for a sustainable future. Since 1992, Investors' Circle’s core activity has been the Investors’ Circle Network, a national network of angel investors, venture capital funds, foundations, and others that has facilitated the flow of over $111 million into 182 companies and venture funds addressing social and environmental challenges.
Jay is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Board member of the
Philadelphia chapters of KIPP, a national public charter middle school, City Year, a
leading Americorps youth service program, and Monteverde Friends, U.S.
Jay grew up in New York City before heading west to Stanford University,
graduating with a degree in East Asian Studies in 1989. Prior to AND 1, Jay worked
for McKinsey & Co and several organizations in NYC’s public and non-profit
sectors.
Between AND 1 and B Lab, Jay enjoyed a sabbatical Down Under and in Monteverde, Costa Rica with his yogini wife Randi and their two children, Dex, 9, and Ria, 7. They live in Berwyn, PA.
Seth co-founded Honest Tea in 1998 with Barry Nalebuff, his professor at the Yale School of Management. Under Seth’s leadership, the company has become an innovator within the beverage industry -- the first to introduce a USDA-certified organic bottled tea and the first to make a Fair Trade Certified bottled tea. The company has been continuously recognized for its impressive growth and mission-driven business practices with an annual compound growth rate of 66 percent. Recently, Honest Tea was included on The Better World Shopping Guide's list of "ten best companies on the planet based on their overall social and environmental record." Prior to co-founding Honest Tea, Goldman held management positions at Calvert Group, a socially-responsible mutual fund company. He currently serves on the boards of Bethesda Green, Environmental Leadership Program, and Happy Baby, among others. Earlier this year, Goldman was named Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year for Greater Washington D.C.”
Jennifer Henderson is CEO/Manager and co-founder of Strategic Decisions, LLC. She is an experienced trainer, facilitator and technical assistance provider in the areas of strategic planning, organizational transformation, cultural diversity, community development, management assistance and capacity building. Before founding Strategic Decisions, LLC, Jennifer spent fifteen years as senior staff in organizational, community and leadership development at the Center for Community Change in Washington, DC. During that time, Jennifer designed and managed the Community Change Agents Project, a rigorous leadership and management program for senior staff of nonprofit organizations. The program successfully increased the skills and acumen of nearly 100 leaders who continue to use the experience from the program in the community, government and corporate sectors. A master trainer, Jennifer is a sought-after expert in curriculum design, fellows programs, organizational redesign and capacity building. More than 200 tools have been developed directly from work with scores of organizations, businesses and agencies over three decades. Jennifer has considerable experience with nongovernmental organizations around the world. She spearheaded the firm’s training and development assistance to NGOs and businesses in South Africa and the Newly Independent States of Eastern Europe. Since 1996, Jennifer has been a board member of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Company and served as the chair of the board for seven years. Jennifer is also active in the social venture field and currently serves as the chair of Sweet Beginnings, LLC, a honey-based personal products company which trains and employs ex-felons and marginalized persons. Jennifer has consulted with the Boeing Company and other corporations to identify and support innovative social enterprises. Jennifer has authored articles that have been published by the Hitachi Foundation, the Presbyterian Church, and the Grassroots Fundraising Journal. Jennifer holds a degree in Politics and Journalism from N.C. State University.
Gary Hirshberg is Chairman, President, and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. The author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion Books, January, 2008), he is a world-renowned speaker on topics including sustainability, climate change, the profitability of green business, organic agriculture, socially responsible business and sustainable economic development.
For the past 26 years, Gary has overseen Stonyfield Farm’s phenomenal growth, from its infancy as a seven-cow organic farming school in 1983 to its current $320 million in annual sales. Stonyfield has enjoyed a compounded annual growth rate of over 24% for more than eighteen years, by consistently producing great-tasting products and using innovative marketing techniques that blend the company’s social, environmental, and financial missions.
In 2001, Stonyfield Farm entered into a partnership with Groupe Danone, and in 2005, Gary was named managing director of Stonyfield Europe, a joint venture between the two firms with brands in Canada, Ireland, and France.
Gary joined Stonyfield Farm a few months after its start in 1983. Initially, he directed the Rural Education Center, the small organic farming school from which Stonyfield was spawned. Previously, in addition to serving as a trustee of the farming school, Gary had served as executive director of The New Alchemy Institute – a research and education center dedicated to organic farming, aquaculture, and renewable energy.
A New Hampshire native, Gary was one of the first graduates of Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, and has received seven honorary doctorates and was named a Gordon Grand Fellow at Yale University.
Gary has won numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership, including Global Green USA's “1999 Green Cross Millennium Award for Corporate Environmental Leadership.” He was named "Business Leader of the Year" by Business NH Magazine and "New Hampshire's 1998 Small Business Person of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Gary serves on several corporate and non-profit boards including Applegate Farms, the Dannon Company, Honest Tea, Peak Organic Brewing Company, The Full Yield, Climate Counts, Express Soccer Club, Stonyfield Europe, Ltd, Glenisk, Ltd and the Danone Communities Fund. He is the chairman and co-founder of O’Naturals, a natural fast food restaurant company. He served on the advisory panel for Newsweek magazine's Global Environmental Leadership Conference and as an Advisor to Renewal Partners LLC, Solera Capital, the Heinz Center Leadership Summit and the Corporate Ecoforum.
Brian’s currently distilling his experience and studies into a practical philosophy for the 21st century while having fun creating his new business, “PhilosophersNotes” (think mini-CliffsNotes for self-development books). He’s always been passionate about understanding and applying the principles of what makes great people great—that .00000001% who go out and change the world. The PhilosophersNotes give him the chance to share the wisdom he’s picked up along the way in his own hero’s journey as he inspires and empowers people to live at their highest potential. He loves his job.
In one of his past lives, as a 24-year-old law school dropout turned Founder/CEO, Brian led the creation of eteamz—the world’s largest amateur sports site that currently (and profitably) provides team and league web sites and a comprehensive suite of services to over 3 million teams from over 120 countries around the world. (For example, Little League Baseball® uses the technology.) After spending the requisite time in “garage-mode,” eteamz won UCLA’s Business Plan competition, raised over $5 million of capital, grew from 3 to 45 employees in less than a year and was sold for over $13 million of stock and cash to The Active Network, Inc. in 2000.
After successfully leading the integration of the two companies as a Vice President at Active, Brian spent a few years as a philosopher, immersing himself in philosophy, psychology, mysticism and optimal living. He read hundreds of books and traveled a bit—studying Jesus in Jerusalem, Marcus Aurelius in the Danube of Hungary, Rumi in Konya, Turkey, and Socrates in Greece. On his return, he created thinkArete.com, a site where he began distilling the universal truths of optimal living. Over 10,000 people signed up to receive his daily newsletter where he shared the wisdom of his favorite teachers, showing how everyone (from Nietzsche to Buddha to Emerson) is saying the same thing.
In 2004, in an effort to integrate his philosophical and entrepreneurial and to put the truths he was studying into practice, Brian created Zaadz (now Gaia)—a company named after the Dutch word for seed committed to leveraging world-class social networking tools to connect, inspire and empower people committed to transforming their lives and our planet. (Think: MySpace for people who want to change the world.) As the Philosopher & CEO of Zaadz, he raised $3 million to finance the launch of the business. Feeling the dharmic pull to immerse himself back into studying and living the universal truths, Brian sold Zaadz to Gaiam, Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIA) in the summer of 2007.
Brian graduated Magna Cum Laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors from UCLA where he studied Psychology and Business. He reads a lot and loves to hike, laugh, write, think, draw, teach, enjoy great conversations with an inspired soul, meditate in his infrared sauna, spend time with his fiancée, Alexandra, and play with their puppy, Joy. He’ll be publishing his first book in 2009. He’s 33.
Terry Mollner, Ed.D., is Founder, Chair, and Executive Director of Trusteeship Institute, Inc., a think tank and consulting firm founded in 1973 based on the economic theories of Mahatma Gandhi. It focuses on the development of socially responsible businesses. In the 1970s Dr. Mollner was one of the earliest pioneers of socially responsible investing and, in 1982, was one of the founders of the Calvert Socially Responsible Investment Fund, the first such fund with the full panoply of social screens. Today it is the largest family of such funds with nearly $7 billion under management. He also provided leadership to create the Calvert Foundation that is pioneering "community investment" - investment to end poverty - as another new asset class in the professional investment community. It currently manages over $200 million and has just launched a program to make its note available to over 300 million EBay and Pay Pal customers. Dr. Mollner is on the board of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., the United Way of Hampshire County, Inc., a fellow of the World Business Academy, a member of the Social Venture Network, and a founder and member of Business Association of Local Living Economies (BALLE) of the Pioneer Valley. He was also one of the founders of Spirit In Business, Inc. in the USA. He has written numerous articles and books, particularly on the Mondragon Cooperatives, and is currently working on a book entitled The Love Skill: It Determines How We Experience Everything Else and How We Change Our World.
Rachel Mosher-Williams is an Assistant Director at the Aspen Institute’s Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation, where she leads convenings, designs leadership education initiatives, and commissions applied research for the philanthropy and social enterprise fields. Previously, she conducted research on advocacy and foundations at the Urban Institute and, before that, was a program associate at the National Council of Nonprofit Associations. Rachel is the editor of and a contributor to the volume, “Research on Social Entrepreneurship” and of Who Speaks for America’s Children? (Urban Institute Press, 2001). Rachel serves on the boards of the Fourth Sector Network and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and on the advisory committee for the Philanthropic Divide Initiative. She received her Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University and her B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary.
Frederick Schilling founded Dagoba Organic Chocolate in 2001, who was then just 30 and on a mission to prove to the chocolate industry that a chocolate company could be successful and profitable by following triple bottom line principles. Dagoba Organic Chocolate quickly grew to become an international icon for environmentally sustainable and socially responsible chocolate.
Early on, Frederick researched cacao production and learned that, in some cases, it was associated with deforestation, agrochemical use, loss of heirloom varietals and labor concerns. He committed Dagoba to the principles of Full Circle Sustainability – blending quality, ecology, equity and community from the farm to the consumer. “To preserve true chocolate, we must support the cultivation of fine flavor cacao and sustainable farming. We can ensure this only by paying farmers enough to do it. At the same time, we must offer consumers the highest quality chocolate to earn lasting markets.”
Frederick and Dagoba’s sourcing partners regularly travel to producing countries to locate high quality cacao, establish direct and equitable trading partnerships, collaborate on post-harvest processing, and support self-sustaining social and environmental programs. The company uses artisan methods to craft this cacao into exceptional products, and integrates ecological practices across all operations.
Dagoba’s approach has received high regards, including “Best Organic Bars” and the “2005 Tastemaker Award” from Food & Wine” and “Best Dark Chocolate” from the San Francisco Chronicle. Environmental recognitions include the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Award and the Organic Trade Association’s “Spirit of Organic” Award.
Frederick is quick to acknowledge the invaluable role family and coworkers have played in realizing the company’s vision. His father, Jon, came out of retirement to help run finance and administration for the first six years, and his mother Mary handles international sales and key accounts. The company’s dedicated, caring and multi-talented employees function as an extended family, working to bring out Dagoba’s best and driving the company forward.
Frederick sold Dagoba Organic Chocolate to The Hershey Company in October of 2006 and remains on board as a consultant for sourcing cacao, product development and marketing.
Don Shaffer is the president and CEO of RSF Social Finance (effective October 1st 2007). Prior to joining RSF, Mr. Shaffer served as executive director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) developing it into an alliance of 52 business networks across the U.S. and Canada. In 2006-2007, he also served as interim executive director of Investor’s Circle. His experience includes over 12 years in senior management positions building social mission companies including Comet Skateboards, a designer and manufacturer of premium skateboarding products committed to local and sustainable business practices. He has served and led sales, marketing, business development, and general operations teams in the education and software sectors. Mr. Shaffer graduated with a degree in American History at Cornell University, and lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife Jennifer and baby daughter, Sabine.
Wayne Silby is the founder, with John Guffey, of the Calvert Group. He was also one of the founders of the Calvert Social Investment Funds and sits on its board. He is also one of the founders and co-chair of the board of the Calvert Social Investment Foundation. He has been a pioneer in socially responsible investing and entrepreneurship.
Ron Soiefer is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Unilever United States, Inc. and Regional General Counsel of the Americas for Unilever. He joined the Unilever United States Law Department in June, 1994 from GAF Corporation, where he was Vice President-Law. He is a graduate of The Harvard Law School and spent the first seven years of his career practicing corporate law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York City. Prior to GAF, Ron was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The Oxford Energy Company, a New York-based developer and owner of resource recovery and cogeneration plants. Since joining Unilever, Ron has played the lead counsel role in several significant corporate transactions, including the purchase of the Gorton’s frozen fish and seafood business from General Mills, the sale of Anderson Clayton’s Mexican pet foods business to Ralston Purina and the divestiture of Elizabeth Arden’s Erno Laszlo cosmetics business to Mana Products. After becoming General Counsel in January 1996, Ron served as lead counsel in the acquisitions of Helene Curtis, Diversey, and Ben & Jerry's, and was responsible for U.S. legal aspects of the disposition of the specialty chemicals companies and the acquisition of Bestfoods.
Ron is a native of Westchester County and lives on the East Side of Manhattan. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, where he majored in American history and literature.
Greg Steltenpohl is currently the CEO of Adina World Beat Beverages, a start-up focused on promoting fair trade principles and natural beverage products. Mr. Steltenpohl was formerly founder and former CEO of Odwalla, Inc, the leading U.S. supplier of fresh juice and nourishing beverages (www.odwalla.com).
Since his departure from Odwalla, Mr. Steltenpohl has been active as co-founder and Chairman of the Interra Project. Interra supports emerging markets of sustainable products and technology by aggregating the buying power of like-minded consumers through payment card networks. Together with founder and former Visa International Chairman, Dee Hock, Greg was a founding Trustee of the Chaordic Commons (www.chaordic.org). The commons is dedicated to developing new forms of purposeful organizations based upon the self-organizing principles of natural systems. Greg has also served on the boards of Frontier Natural Products Cooperative, Social Venture Network, (www.svn.org), and Santa Cruz Community Credit Union. Greg graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies and currently resides in San Francisco.
Sunny Vanderbeck has track record of high achievement in all of his endeavors, including as an entrepreneur, CEO, investor, board member and military leader.
Mr. Vanderbeck is a Managing Partner of Satori Capital, a private equity firm that invests in profitable, growing, sustainable businesses. The firm partners with management teams to accelerate the growth of companies that are "built to last" and meet a set of criteria that the firm describes as sustainability. These sustainable businesses operate with a commitment to the success of all stakeholders; are driven by strong values and a mission or purpose; and evaluate decisions with a long-term horizon in mind. Prior to co-founding Satori Capital, Mr. Vanderbeck co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Data Return, a leading provider of managed services and utility computing. As CEO for eleven years, Mr. Vanderbeck led the company through all phases of growth and transformation. The company sustained 40% quarter-over-quarter growth and reached $50 million in revenue after only three years.
With such rapid growth, an impressive customer base, and an innovative and capital-efficient business model, the company attracted strategic investments from Compaq, Level 3, and Microsoft. After a successful IPO, the company achieved a market capitalization in excess of $3 billion and Mr. Vanderbeck was one of the youngest CEOs ever to lead a NASDAQ company. In recognition of Data Return’s industry leadership, Microsoft named Data Return Global Hosting Partner of the Year, while Mr. Vanderbeck received numerous individual honors including being named “Top 25 Technology Executives” and Entrepreneur of the Year finalist by Ernst and Young.
After two years as a public company, Mr. Vanderbeck successfully negotiated the sale of Data Return to another public company. Following the transaction, Mr. Vanderbeck integrated Data Return with another similar-sized business that was previously acquired by the parent company, and then led the combined business unit. One year later, Mr. Vanderbeck identified an opportunity to repurchase the company and partnered with Saratoga Partners to re-acquire the business. Following the repurchase, Mr. Vanderbeck led and grew Data Return for the next four years and then repositioned the company, achieving Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader status. Capitalizing on the strong momentum in the business, Mr. Vanderbeck then successfully sold the business to a public company, achieving another significant return on invested equity.
Prior to co-founding Data Return, Mr. Vanderbeck served as a Team Lead at Microsoft, focused on supporting Microsoft’s largest clients and partners. Through his experience at Microsoft, Mr. Vanderbeck was able to identify a compelling market opportunity that he founded Data Return to address.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Vanderbeck served as a Section Leader of the 2nd Ranger Battalion (U.S. Special Operations Command). Through this experience, Mr. Vanderbeck learned how to succeed under challenging circumstances while leading others to new levels of performance.
Leveraging his expertise in strategy, operations and capital allocation, Mr. Vanderbeck is actively engaged with several private businesses as an investor, advisor, and board member. Additionally, Mr. Vanderbeck is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) where he serves as the North American Co-Chair of the organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility Network. In this role, his charter is to develop awareness and support for more sustainable business models among YPO companies. Mr. Vanderbeck lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Tisha and dog, ‘”V”.
Your financial support will continue the work of building common good corporations and investment funds. They are organizations that freely choose to give priority to the common good by placing a cap on the return on equity; the excess each year is permanently set aside and managed by the firm for the common good as they judge best forever. Mail your contribution to Trusteeship Institute, 61 Baker Road, Shutesbury, MA 01072. Thank you.