Seth Goldman

Seth Goldman

Co-Founder, Honest Tea, Socrates Program

Seth Goldman is co-founder, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the company he co-founded in 1998 with Professor Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management. Over the past fourteen years the company has thrived as consumers have shifted toward healthier and more sustainable diets. In March 2011, Honest Tea was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company, helping to further the reach and impact of Honest Tea’s mission by becoming the first organic and Fair Trade brand in the world’s largest beverage distribution system. An entrepreneur at heart, Seth started with lemonade stands and newspaper routes as a kid, created a non-profit urban service program, and nearly pursued a prize-winning biotechnology idea before he started Honest Tea in his kitchen. Since then, the company has initiated community-based partnerships with suppliers in India, Chinaand South Africa, and has created marketing partnerships with the Arbor Day Foundation, City Year, and RecycleBank. In addition to being named one of The Better World Shopping Guide’s “Ten Best Companies on the Planet based on their overall social and environmental record,” Honest Tea was also listed as one of PlanetGreen.com’s “Top 7 Green Corporations of 2010.” In 2010, The Huffington Post ranked Honest Tea as one of the leading “8 Revolutionary Socially Responsible Companies.” In 2008, Seth co-founded Bethesda Green, a local sustainability initiative in Honest Tea’s hometown. In its first year, the initiative helped area restaurants convert their grease waste into biodiesel, and collected over 200,000 lbs of electronic waste. Bethesda Green hosts Maryland’s first green business incubator, with fourteen start-ups currently in residence. Seth serves on the boards of Bethesda Green, Happy Baby, The Calvert Foundation, the American Beverage Association, Repair the World, and sits on the Advisory Board of Net Impact. In 2011, Seth was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to the Maryland Economic Development Commission. Before launching Honest Tea, Seth worked at Calvert Group, managing the marketing and sales efforts for the nation’s largest family of socially responsible mutual funds. His previous work includes directing an AmeriCorps demonstration project inBaltimoreand serving as Senator Lloyd Bentsen’s Deputy Press Secretary. He has also worked in Beijing and Moscow. He is a graduate of Harvard College(1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995), and holds an honorary Doctorate of Laws from American University. In 2009, Seth was the recipient of Net Impact’s Member Achievement Award. He is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.