, a pioneering leader in sustainable business, and the Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) program have had a long history together. Their co-founder, Jeffrey Hollender, supported the development and launch of SI-MBA in 2014. Their previous CEO, Joey Bergstein, served on the Advisory Board, funded a scholarship, and hosted multiple practicums, the capstone experience of SI-MBA. Shared beliefs on the roles and responsibilities of business in society and for the environment, along with sharing Vermont as our home, a natural linkage has been formed. Indeed, many of our graduates have walked through the doors of Seventh Generation (now parent company, Unilever) over the years, through practicums and full-time roles.
With this as the backdrop, SI-MBA students were privileged to be welcomed into Seventh Generation's HQ on Lake Champlain for a panel discussion with their CEO, Alison Whritenour, and others on her executive team, including CMO John Moorhead, Chief Impact Officer, Ashley Orgain, and Head of Finance for Homecare business in North America, Nimerta Sirichand. They were joined by Kelly Murosky, a sustainable packaging manager with Unilever, and Matt Iacobucci, SI-MBA alumni, and former Seventh Generation team member, who currently works in supply chain and corporate sustainability with Unilever.
Our Sustainable Innovation MBA students, along with staff and faculty, heard from the panel about the marketing skills they're looking for as a brand trying to drive consumer behavior change, what their corporate consciousness team structure and function looks like, how they, as a smaller brand can influence their larger parent company, and how they each stay motivated doing the hard work of trying to do business better.
It was inspiring to see this next generation of sustainable business leaders learning from and building relationships with the folks who have been paving the way. We're thrilled to see where this relationship goes into the next decade.