Gary Hirshberg: Origins of the world's largest organic yogurt producer
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English - October 31, 2019 22:34 - 2 hours - 188 MB - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingEntrepreneurship Business Education Self-Improvement health business wellness productivity startups finance leadership marketing interview entrepreneur Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Gary Hirshberg is an entrepreneur, businessman, fierce environmentalist and the Chairman of Stonyfield Farm.
Stonyfield Farm is today the world’s leading organic yogurt producer. Founded in 1983 by Gary Hirshberg and Samuel Kaymen from a small, seven-cow organic farming school, Stonyfield Farm is today the world’s leading organic yogurt producer.
Gary was CEO for 28 years, leading the business from its inception to global sales of more than U.S. $360 million. During his tenure, Stonyfield Farm grew at an incredible compounded annual growth rate of over 23%.
In 2001, Gary arranged the sale of Stonyfield to French food conglomerate Groupe Danone, staying on as CEO for an additional ten years before moving into the role of Chairman and Managing Director of Stonyfield Europe. In 2017, Groupe Danone sold Stonyfield Farm to French dairy multinational Lactalis for U.S. $875 million.
Gary has served on several corporate and nonprofit boards including Applegate Farms, Honest Tea, Peak Organic Brewing, Late July, The Full Yield, Glenisk, the Danone Communities Fund and the Danone Livelihoods Fund.
He has also received twelve honorary doctorates and won numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership, including a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the US EPA. He has been named one of "America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs" by Business Week and one of the top ten "Most Inspiring People in Sustainable Food” by Fast Company.
In 2011, President Obama appointed Gary to serve on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.