John Mackey: Co-founder of Whole Foods Market

John Mackey: Co-founder of Whole Foods Market

Business Owner · Retail & E-commerce

Austin

John Mackey co-founded Whole Foods Market in 1980, led it as CEO until 2022, and helped lead the natural food movement.

About John Mackey: Co-founder of Whole Foods Market

John Powell Mackey (born August 15, 1953, in Houston, Texas) is an American businessman and author, the co-founder of Whole Foods Market, which he led as CEO from its inception in 1980 until his retirement in 2022. He is currently CEO of Love.Life, which he also co-founded. A vocal member of the Libertarian Party, Mackey is a strong supporter of free-market economics; he has criticized labor unions and describes his views as "beyond union". Named Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year in 2003, he is a leader in the natural food movement and has written books on business and on plant-based diets. Mackey was born to Margaret Wescott Powell and William Sturges "Bill" Mackey Jr., with a younger sister and an older brother. His father was a professor of accounting, CEO of the health-care company LifeMark and an investor in Whole Foods Market before his death in 2004; in the abstract of his book Conscious Capitalism, Mackey thanks his father for teaching him valuable life lessons. His mother died in 1987, when he was 34. Sources: English Wikipedia (John Mackey (businessman), accessed September 2026).

Basic Information

Co-founder, Whole Foods Market; co-founder and CEO, Love.Life

Company Details

Whole Foods Market / Love.Life

Natural and Organic Grocery, Wellness