Jean Thompson is the Owner and CEO of Seattle Chocolate Company, makers of the Seattle chocolate and jcoco fine chocolate brands. She has been running Seattle Chocolate for almost 18 years and has grown it from the ruins it was in after the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001 to the successful company that it is today.

A native New Englander, Jean graduated from Bates College before embarking on a career in high tech. Prior to taking over the mantle in Seattle Chocolate Company, she was actively raising her two children in Bellevue, Washington and devoting her free time to nonprofit work. She had previously worked at Microsoft as a Corporate Communications Manager.

In this episode…

With no experience in the chocolate industry, Jean Thompson found herself taking leadership of a small chocolate company in Seattle. She was the majority shareholder with a 95% stake after the Nisqually Earthquake of 2001, and it was her love for chocolate, her determination, and her willingness to learn and adapt which drove her desire to turn the company fortunes around.

18 years later, Jean has learned a lot from running the chocolate company and she has evolved her company to have a social branding that impacts and touches many lives.

Andrea Heuston’s featured guest in this episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show is Jean Thompson, the woman behind Seattle Chocolate. Tune in as they talk about Jean's transition from the tech industry to the chocolate industry, her shift from being a stay-at-home mum to becoming the owner of a chocolate company, the struggles and challenges women face in creating and leading companies, and why her decisiveness is her undeniable business superpower.

Ep 195: Oliver's Thoughts