John Mackey

John Mackey co-founded Whole Foods Market, transitioning it from a single natural food store to a Fortune 500 company before co-founding Love.Life to innovate in holistic health and wellness. After co-founding SaferWay in 1978, John Mackey went on to launch Whole Foods Market in 1980. This first 10,500-square-foot location, opened on September 20, 1980, with 19 staff members, quickly became the highest-volume natural-food store in America. Despite facing an existential challenge in 1981 when a flood severely damaged the store, it successfully reopened within 28 days, a testament to strong community support and Mackey’s emerging stakeholder model for business.

Throughout the 1980s, Whole Foods Market steadily expanded, opening seven new stores by 1989 across Texas, New Orleans, and making its first West Coast move to Palo Alto, California. Mackey championed a values-driven approach, initiating a process in 1985 that led to the company’s ‘Declaration of Interdependence.’ In 1992, Whole Foods went public, raising $28 million and achieving a valuation of $100 million. This capital fueled strategic acquisitions of key natural food retailers like Bread & Circus and Mrs. Gooch’s, significantly expanding the company’s reach and expertise.

He has authored ‘Conscious Capitalism’ (2014) and ‘Conscious Leadership’ (2020), which explore his philosophies on business purpose and stakeholder integration. His latest venture is the co-founding of Love.Life in 2024, a holistic health and wellness club, and his new book, ‘The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism,’ was published in 2024.