How a Salad Dressing Funded $600M in Philanthropy
Description
In this episode of The Shift Code Podcast, host Pierre Le Manh is joined by Alexandra Amouyel, President and CEO of Newman's Own Foundation, to break down how the company funnels 100% of its profits to support children facing adversity, how its unique legal structure became a blueprint for purpose-driven enterprise, and how a $40,000 salad dressing experiment became $600 million in impact.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to structure and govern a 100% for-purpose enterprise that balances commercial success with social impact
- The governance framework for maintaining separation between the foundation and business operations
- Why traditional business metrics and incentive structures can coexist with charitable missions
- How to build sustainable funding models for social impact without relying on traditional donor relationships
- Why food justice and children's nutrition represent strategic leverage points for addressing broader societal challenges
- How to navigate market disruptions and maintain social impact during economic headwinds
Alexandra Amouyel is the president and CEO of Newman's Own Foundation, a private grant-making foundation whose mission is to nourish and transform the lives of children who face adversity. The foundation's structure is unique and continues Paul Newman's commitment to use all the money that it receives — 100% of the profits and royalties — from the sale of Newman’s Own products in service of its mission. Through the efforts of Paul Newman, Newman's Own and the Newman's Own Foundation, more than 600 million dollars has been given to social impact organizations since 1982. Before taking the helm at Newman’s Own Foundation, Amouyel led MIT Solve as its founding executive director with a mission to drive innovation to solve the world’s greatest challenges. Before MIT Solve, she was the director of the program for the Clinton Global Initiative. She is also the author of The Answer Is You: A Guidebook to Creating a Life Full of Impact and an executive producer for The Big Idea, an award-winning documentary series that follows three social entrepreneurs trying to bring their world-changing ideas to market.
Episode Resources:
United States
