John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods Market, will deliver the keynote address for WashU Olin Business School’s annual Brauer Lecture Series.
The event will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in Graham Chapel on Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth Campus and will include a 45-minute lecture followed by a Q&A. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and members of the greater St. Louis community are invited to attend this free event. Registration is requested to ensure adequate seating.
In Mackey’s 44 years as CEO, the natural and organic grocer grew from a single store in Austin, Texas, to 540 stores in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, with annual sales exceeding $22 billion and more than 105,000 employees.
A staunch advocate for free-market principles, Mackey co-founded the “conscious capitalism” movement and authored “The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life and Capitalism,” and “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business.” He has dedicated his career to reimagining the role of business as a force for good and continues to support initiatives focused on global poverty, animal welfare and employee health.
His influence as a mission-driven leader has earned him numerous accolades, including being named one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.” Under his leadership, Whole Foods Market also was named to Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 20 consecutive years.
The event will be moderated by journalist Charlie Brennan. Brennan is a host of KETC-TV’s “Donnybrook,” a locally produced talk show on PBS. He hosted “The Charlie Brennan Show” on KMOX Newsradio for nearly 34 years before retiring in 2022. Brennan was inducted into the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame in 2009 and was named one of the “Most Influential St. Louisans” five years in a row by the St. Louis Business Journal. Brennan is a leader in the community, focusing particularly on efforts to clean up and beautify the region. A graduate of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, Brennan lives in St. Louis with his wife and children.
Immediately following the event, local food trucks will be on site serving food at no cost to students who attended the event.
About the series
The Brauer Lecture Series was created to explore and encourage dialogue on the American free enterprise system. The series supports student growth and development by hosting leading scholars from across the United States.
This lecture series supports WashU Olin Businesss’ vision of providing world-changing business education, research and impact.
Made possible by Stephen and Camilla Brauer, the series features highly regarded thought leaders and public figures addressing the positive influences that free-market economics and the American free enterprise system continue to play in economic growth, public policy and world affairs.
