Oct. 6, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hunter Francis
805-756-5086; cfs@calpoly.edu
Whole Foods’ Co-CEO Walter Robb to Speak at Cal Poly Oct. 13
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The Cal Poly Center for Sustainability will host an on-campus community discussion with Whole Foods Market co-CEO Walter Robb from 11:10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Oct. 13, in Chumash Auditorium.
Discussion will include the changing consumer landscape, the economics of organics, and agricultural trends.
After the talk, a Q&A session will be held, moderated by Hunter Francis, director of the Center for Sustainability.
Robb has a 40-year history in the natural foods industry. He opened his first natural foods store, Mountain Marketplace, in Weaverville, Calif., in 1976. Ten years later, he began managing Berkeley Living Foods in the Bay Area.
He joined Whole Foods Market in 1991, becoming president of the company’s Northern Pacific region, which grew from two to 17 stores in eight years. In 2010 he was named co-CEO along with John Mackey.
Robb serves on the board of regents for the University of the Pacific and on the boards of directors for the Whole Planet Foundation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He also serves as chairman of the board for Whole Kids Foundation and Whole Cities Foundation.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in 1976.
About Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with one small store in Austin, Texas. Today it’s the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with 421 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. It is known for offering the finest natural and organic foods available, maintaining the strictest quality standards in the industry, and having an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture.
About Cal Poly’s Center for Sustainability
The Center for Sustainability (www.cfs.calpoly.edu) is a cross-disciplinary initiative in Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences that is dedicated to advancing education on sustainable food and agricultural systems through curriculum, professional development, and on-farm education.
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