Business Mentorship and Growing to the Next Level with Michael Funk - Co-Founder, United Natural Foods (UNFI)
Michael Funk co-founded Mountain Peoples Warehouse in 1976 and grew it into the leading natural foods wholesaler in the western U.S., before co-founding United Natural Foods (UNFI) in 1996 — now a $32 billion publicly traded distributor serving food retailers across North America. As President and CEO, he led UNFI's growth from a regional startup into an industry-defining enterprise, stepping down as CEO and Chairman in 2016 while remaining active on its Board of Directors and the UNFI Foundation. A longtime leader in the organic and non-GMO movement, Funk has served as Board President of the Non-GMO Project, co-founded The Organic Center, was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to the USDA's Advisory Committee in 2010, and received the Organic Trade Association's Leadership Award in 2011.
In this session on Business Mentorship and Growing to the Next Level, Funk draws on decades of building a company from the ground up to share hard-won lessons on scaling a business responsibly. He discusses what it means to stay accountable — to your team, your business, and yourself — as growth accelerates, and offers candid insight into recognizing when it's time to push forward and grow, versus when it's time to step back and move on.