Joel Makower (he/him)

In addition to his role at MSA, Joel is chairman and co-founder of GreenBiz Group, a media and events company focusing at the intersection of business, technology and sustainability. For more than 30 years, through his writing, speaking and leadership, he has helped companies align environmental and social issues with business success.

A former nationally syndicated columnist, Joel is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including The New Grand Strategy, about a business plan for America, born at the Pentagon, that embeds sustainability as a national strategic imperative. Previous books include Strategies for the Green Economy, Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting Social Responsibility to Work for Your Business and the World, The E-Factor: The Bottom-Line Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business, and The Green Consumer.

Joel is also the author of an oral history of the Woodstock festival of 1969, which “Rolling Stone” called “the definitive story of the mega-event.” The interviews he conducted now live in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

In 2012, he was awarded the Hutchens Medal by the American Society for Quality, which cited “his ability to tell compelling stories that both inform and inspire business leaders toward profitable action.” In 2014, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

Joel has been a commentator on environmental topics for public radio's "Marketplace" and appears frequently in both broadcast and print media. He serves as a board member or adviser to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations and speaks regularly to companies, industry groups and business schools around the world.

The Associated Press has called him “The guru of green business practices.”