TOMS Shoes CEO joins Richard Branson’s sustainability group Plan B

Global non-profit organisation, Plan B, set up by Sir Richard Branson and Puma chairman Jochen Zeitz, has recruited TOMS Shoes CEO Blake Mycoskie as the latest edition to 'the B Team'.


TOMS, based in the US, is known for its One for One giving model, where the company gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need for each pair sold.

To date, the company has given away more than 10 million pairs of shoes and restored sight to more than 200,000 individuals through its eyewear initiative.

Mycoskie will be the youngest member of The B Team, which aims to create a “future world in which the purpose of business is to be a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit”.

He joins fellow members of the B Team at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week to encourage other business leaders to catalyse a better way of doing business, by “advancing a Plan B that puts people and the planet alongside profit”.

Commenting on his appointment, Mycoskie said: “A driving force behind my business ventures is my deep seated passion to inspire people to help make tomorrow better, encouraging them to include giving in everything they do. I fully share the B Team’s aspirations and am thrilled to have this opportunity to develop ideas and ultimately better business.”

Virgin boss Branson said: “The B Team welcomes Blake’s energy and experience, in particular his passion for inspiring and improving the lives of young people. Blake has proven first-hand that ‘putting people and the planet before profit is also good for business'”.

Branson added that Mycoskie “embodies the next generation of business leaders that is challenging and inspiring all of us to do business differently.”

Alongside the two founding members of the B Team, which launched in June 2013, Mycoskie joins Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Arison Group owner Shari Arison, United Nations Foundation president and CEO Kathy Calvin and chair, president and editor in chief of The Huffington Post Media Group Arianna Huffington.

Leigh Stringer

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