Tom Chappell

Tom Chappell’s Key Accomplishments Include . . .
Tom Chappell founded Tom’s of Maine with his wife Kate, and was CEO of the eponymous company that produces innovative, natural care products. Tom Chappell and his wife left the corporate world for Kennebunk, Maine, in 1968 to “move back to the land,” where they raised their five children. Since co-founding Tom’s of Maine with Kate in 1970, Tom Chappell dedicated himself to creating a company that produces natural products in a caring and creative work environment. Continuing their innovative approach to sustainable business, Tom and Kate Chappell have founded Ramblers Way Farm – a clothing company that creates superfine wool garments, while maintaining high standards of ecological responsibility and community involvement.

Tom Chappell hopes to set an example of ethical business standards for others. His first book, The Soul of a Business: Managing for Profit and the Common Good, set a practical yet powerful new agenda for ethical and profitable business leadership. His second book, Managing Upside Down: Seven Intentions for Values-Centered Leadership offers an insightful step-by-step guide to Tom Chappell’s own management philosophy: leading with one’s values by integrating the organizational, financial, and social components of a business.

Tom Chappell also founded The Saltwater Institute, a nonprofit organization offering innovative leadership development programs such as “The Seven Intentions of Values-Centered Leadership” program. These programs provide performance tools to help executives and their organizations create profitable values-centered enterprises.

Tom Chappell’s riveting keynotes explain how in building his company he acquired a new business vision and the tools to make that vision come true. Tom Chappell’s presentations also offer step-by-step suggestions, illuminated with stories from daily life at Tom’s of Maine, about how to integrate one’s personal beliefs into practical, productive and profitable business strategies.

More About Tom Chappell . . .
Like the company he pilots, Tom Chappell has received many awards including the “New Englander Award” sponsored by the Small Business Association of New England, 1991 “Entrepreneur of the Year” from CNBC and 1995 “Socially Responsible New England Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Entrepreneur of the Year Institute.

Tom’s of Maine has been named one of the “100 Best Companies in the U.S. for Working Mothers” by Working Mother magazine and one of the “Top 10 Healthiest Companies” by Health magazine. Tom’s of Maine has received the prestigious “Corporate Conscience Award for Charitable Contributions” from the Council on Economic Priorities.

Tom Chappell is active in many cultural and philanthropic organizations, among them: the Dean’s Council for Harvard Divinity School, the Advisory Council for the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard Divinity School, the Board of Fellows for Harvard’s School of Dental Medicine, The Nature Conservancy of Maine, and the Washington National Cathedral National Advisory Group. In 2000, Tom Chappell was appointed by President Clinton to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.

A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, with a B.A. in English, Tom Chappell earned a Masters in Theology at Harvard Divinity School. He is active in the Episcopal Church of Maine, and was a member of the Environmental Stewardship Team of the national Episcopal Church.