Jeffrey Hollender

As Chief Inspired Protagonist, Executive Chairperson, and co-founder of Seventh Generation, Jeffrey Hollender is a well-respected leader in the socially and environmentally responsible communities.

Hollender frequently addresses social and environmental responsibility at regional, national and international venues, and is often asked by other companies to consult on sustainability. His blog, Inspired Protagonist, is a closely-followed resource and guide for spotlighting socially responsible business practices and principles on the global stage. Hollender is co-author of the forthcoming The Responsibility Revolution: How the Next Generation of Businesses Will Win and several other books, including What Matters Most and Naturally Clean.

Hollender has led Seventh Generation from its humble beginnings to its current position as the leading and fastest-growing brand of natural products for the home, and the leading authority on issues related to making a positive difference in the health of the planet and its inhabitants through our everyday choices.

An entrepreneur at heart, his first business ventures were rooted in adult education. He began the not-for-profit organizations Skills Exchange of Toronto, a learning exchange that offered practical and professional development classes, and Network for Learning, New York City, an adult education and audio-publishing company; both were social and financial successes. After his tenure as president of Warner Audio Publishing, New York City, Hollender acquired a small mail order catalog of energy conservation products, Renew America, which eventually blossomed into Seventh Generation.

Currently, Hollender serves on the Board of Directors of the Greenpeace Fund, the Environmental Health Fund, Verite, YourVive and Alloy Inc., a publicly traded company. He serves in an advisory capacity to Healthy Child Healthy World (formerly Children's Health Environmental Coalition) and to Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. He is a member and former Director of the Social Venture Network, a group of socially-conscious business executives. Hollender co-founded and was a Director of Community Capital Bank, a New York financial institution that invests in affordable housing and community development and is also a former president of Rainforest Foundation USA, an organization created to protect the rainforest and the human rights of its indigenous peoples.