Whole Foods Founder: How Merging With Amazon Is Like Marriage

In its first year of life, Whole Foods Market had a “near-death” experience. Founder and long-time CEO John Mackey tells Leadership Next that a flood nearly destroyed the store – none of the damages were covered by insurance. But employees and customers banded together to clean things up, and a local banker personally guaranteed a loan to get Whole Foods back on its feet. This was Mackey’s first real understanding of how important all stakeholders are to a company. And from that day forward he’s become a proponent of what he calls “conscious capitalism.” He explains the details to Alan Murry and Ellen McGirt. How do these values mesh with Whole Foods’ owner, Amazon? Mackey describes the company pairing as a “marriage” where each partner changes and influences the other. 

Also in the episode: how Whole Foods has worked to protect employees from COVID-19, how the pandemic had impacted business, and why Mackey believes in pay caps and pay transparency.