Randolph-Macon College will host John Mackey, the co-founder and visionary entrepreneur behind Whole Foods Market, as a part of the Arthur McKinley Reynolds Speakers Series on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. inside Blackwell Auditorium at the Center for the Performing Arts.

Reserve your free ticket at https://event.rmc.edu/Mackey

Mackey is expected to share his insights on free markets as a passionate advocate for capitalism as a force for good. His leadership on conscious capitalism, as co-founder of the official movement and author of two best-selling books on the subject, defends and reimagines capitalism and encourages a way of doing business that is grounded in ethical consciousness.

Mackey founded the health food store that became Whole Foods Market in 1978. When he retired in 2022, after 44 years of service as CEO, the natural and organic grocer grew from a single store in Austin, Texas, to 540 stores in the U.S., U.K., and Canada with annual sales exceeding $22 billion and more than 105,000 team members.

A pioneer of natural and organic foods, Mackey has focused on building a more conscious way of doing business. His vision inspired Whole Planet Foundation to help end poverty in developing nations, the Local Producer Loan Program to help local food producers expand their businesses, the Global Animal Partnership’s rating scale for humane farm animal treatment, and the Total Health Immersion program to promote health and wellness with Whole Foods Market Team Members.

Mackey was inducted into the World Retail Congress Hall of Fame, which honors retail’s most influential representatives whose ideas have shaped retailing through the businesses and brands they have created, or by their skills in running the retail industry’s giants. He has been recognized as one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Winner for the United States,” Institutional Investor’s “Best CEO in America,” Barron’s “World’s Best CEO,” MarketWatch’s “CEO of the Year,” and Esquire’s “Most Inspiring CEO,” while Whole Foods Market was named to Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for” list for 20 consecutive years. 

A mission-driven entrepreneur, Mackey is deeply passionate about the connection between food and health. He is co-author of “The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity” (Grand Central Life & Style 2017) and “The Whole Foods Cookbook: 120 Delicious and Healthy Plant-Centered Recipes” (Grand Central Life & Style 2018).  He is currently CEO of Love.Life, which unites the power of nourishing food, holistic medical care, and precision wellness therapies to make optimal, lasting health and vitality achievable. His most recent book is “The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life and Capitalism.” 

About the Reynolds Lecture

The Reynolds Speakers Series is made possible by the generosity of the late Arthur McKinley Reynolds, Jr., a retired ophthalmologist who earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from RMC in 1947 and a degree in medicine from VCU School of Medicine, and his wife, Janet Reynolds.  The fund is dedicated in memory of Mack’s parents, Arthur McK. Reynolds, Sr., a 1925 alumnus of RMC, and Susan Minton Reynolds. 

The Reynolds Speakers Series supports individuals of learning and practical accomplishment, exponents of a philosophy favoring free markets, limited government, and individual freedom and responsibility, and who apply those values to illuminate contemporary social, political, and economic issues. Past speakers have included Chris Wallace, Ben Stein, Moira and Steve Forbes, and Newt Gingrich.

The event is free to the public, but tickets are required. Reserve your ticket here.