Ethan Walden Brown (born 1971) is an American executive who is the founder, president and CEO of Beyond Meat.[1] Before founding Beyond Meat, Brown worked on alternative energy and electricity grid restructuring at the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices before joining fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems.[2]
Ethan Brown | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Brown in 2021 | |
| Born | Ethan Walden Brown 1971 (age 52–53) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Businessperson, environmentalist |
| Known for | CEO and founder of Beyond Meat |
| Spouse | Tracy Brown |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editBrown grew up in and near Washington, D.C.,[3] and also spent time during his childhood on his family's farm in Maryland.[4] He is a graduate of George School (Newtown, PA).
Brown holds an undergraduate degree from Connecticut College, a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, a school founded by his father Dr. Peter G. Brown, and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School in 2008.[5]
Career
editEarly career
editBrown served as Vice Chairman of the Board at the National Hydrogen Association and Secretary of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council.[6]
Beyond Meat
editIn 2009, Brown visited a research center at the University of Missouri that was looking for additional uses for soybeans, a major Missouri resource. There, he met researchers Fu-hung Hsieh and Harold Huff,[7] who were working on technology to replicate the texture of meat using plant proteins. Brown acquired the technology license for the process,[8] and founded Beyond Meat in 2009.[9] On May 2, 2019, Brown rang the opening bell at Nasdaq when Beyond Meat went public under the symbol BYND.[10] Brown is also a director of The PLANeT Partnership, Beyond Meat's joint venture with PepsiCo.[11][12]
Awards and recognition
editIn 2014, Brown was listed on Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business 1000.[13] In 2017, Brown was named an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow.[14] In 2018, Brown was selected as one of the UNEP's Champions of the Earth in the category of science and innovation for his "work towards reducing our dependence on animal-based foods."[15] In 2019, Brown was listed on Bloomberg Media's 50 Most Influential ranking.[16] Brown was also named that year to Well+Good's "2020 Changemakers" list.[17]
Personal life
editBrown is married to Tracy Brown,[18] has two children,[8] and lives in Southern California.[3] He became a vegetarian in high school[19] and is now vegan.[20] Brown is also an environmentalist.[21]
References
edit- ^ Bhattacharji, Alex (2020-04-29). "Imagining a World of Meatless Eating". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Moore, McKenna (2020-11-24). "Why Beyond Meat's CEO chose to fight climate change by going into business". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ a b Bessette, Chanelle (2014-01-31). "10 Questions: Ethan Brown, CEO, Beyond Meat". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Patel, Nilay (2020-12-22). "The business of meatless meat". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Villar, Carlos. "Food Tech's Ethan Brown '08 Tackles Sustainability, One Plant-Based Burger at a Time". Ideas & Insights. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ Sacred, Jean-Francois (2019-05-02). "Ethan Brown, le "Canada Dry" du burger séduit Wall Street". L'Echo (in French). Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Bronner, Stephen J. (2018-01-22). "With $72 Million in Funding, the Entrepreneur Behind Beyond Meat Pursues Innovation Over Profit". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ a b Carroll, Chris (2020-01-17). "Growing Beyond Meat". University of Maryland. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Ohanesian, Liz (2019-05-29). "Beyond Burger: The New 'Meat' in Town". KCET. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Darmiento, Laurence (2020-01-08). "Ethan Brown went vegan but missed fast food. So he started a revolution". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Ethan Brown | Management | Beyond Meat, Inc". investors.beyondmeat.com.
- ^ Lucas, Amelia (2021-01-26). "Beyond Meat shares soar 26% as company teams up with PepsiCo to make plant-based snacks and drinks". CNBC.
- ^ Staff, Fast Company (2014-01-29). "Most Creative People In Business 1000: The Complete List". Fast Company.
- ^ "Ethan Brown". AGLN - Aspen Global Leadership Network.
- ^ "Tackling the world's most urgent problem: meat". UN Environment Programme. September 26, 2018.
- ^ "Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat CEO and Fake Meat's Real Winner". Bloomberg Businessweek. December 4, 2019.
- ^ "These are the 27 most influential people in wellness". Well+Good. 2019-12-23.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Maggie (2020-09-29). "Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Beyond Meat, United Airlines, JPMorgan, Penn National Gaming and more". CNBC.
- ^ Gelles, David (2021-08-27). "The 'Hedonistic Altruism' of Plant-Based Meat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Park, Alice (2019-06-06). "Why We Don't Need Animals to Keep Enjoying Meat". Time. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ Stoll, John D. (2020-09-25). "Beyond Meat's Pitch for More Customers: It's Not Just Good for the Planet, It's Also Good for You". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-28.