April 2016
This month’s CASE Chat features Bart Houlahan, Co-Founder of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that certifies B Corporation. Bart is also a member of the CASE Advisory Council.
With the founding of B Lab in 2006, Bart has established himself as a leader in the social entrepreneurship field. He discusses with us the changing role of business in society, where B Corporations fit into that change, maintaining a social mission through succession, and the importance of leadership in scaling your social venture and working with other sectors.
On tri-sector leadership:
“…unless we get all business engaged, the truth is, we’re just not going to get there with government and the nonprofit sector alone. As much as I admire them and view them as absolutely necessary, they’re insufficient and we’ve got to get business more engaged.”
On B Corp’s impact:
“the good news is it seems as if [B Corporations] are in fact more resilient, that they are better able to attract and retain talent, attract capital, and have stronger consumer loyalty.”
How social ventures are transforming larger corporations:
“Plum Organics sold to Campbell’s Soup, maintained their [B Corp] certification, became one of the first Delaware Benefit Corporations and now are creating, through entrepreneurship, a real change at Campbell’s, which is just beautiful.”
Want to hear more from Bart? Watch the full CASE Chat now:
About Bart Houlahan:
Prior to B Lab, Bart Houlahan was CFO, COO and President of AND 1, a $250M basketball footwear, apparel and entertainment company. As the principal operator of the business, Bart joined AND 1 in its second year, when revenues totaled just $4M. Over the course of the next 11 years, Bart helped to finance, operate and scale the business to $250M in brand revenues with distribution in 85 countries world wide. Read more here.
About B Lab:
B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for goodTM. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World® and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. Read more here.
About CASE Chats:
The CASE Chats video series features the movers and shakers in the field of social entrepreneurship sharing their insights on tri-sector leadership, impact investing, social ventures, and more. View the all the CASE Chats here.