Eileen Fisher, founder of EILEEN FISHER Inc., is among the Workplace Champions who will be honored at the SVN Hall of Fame awards ceremony.

Social Venture Network (SVN) just announced the first four of 25 inductees into the SVN Hall of Fame . Honorees will be presented with an award in a ceremony that will pay tribute to best performances in transforming the way the world does business. 

Eileen Fisher, founder of EILEEN FISHER Inc.; Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre and New York Times best-selling author of Emotional Equations; Margot Fraser, founder of Birkenstock USA; and Bruce Poon Tip, CEO and founder of G Adventures, will all be honored in person at the Social Venture Network Hall of Fame celebration taking place at Gotham Hall in Midtown Manhattan on November 13^th, 2012.

Twenty five years ago, the founders of Social Venture Network (SVN) had a vision for a better business model – one that would simultaneously profit  investors, employees, local communities and the planet. SVN became the premiere force for cultivating entrepreneurs dedicated to “profit with a purpose.”

Now, upon the 25^th Anniversary of the founding of SVN, scores of values-driven business leaders and impact investors will gather at the Social Venture Network Hall of Fame gala  to celebrate these success stories of the new economy. “In 1987, the founding members of Social Venture Network launched a movement that has transformed the way people think about the role of business in the world – one that values the needs of all stakeholders, not just shareholders,” says Deb Nelson, SVN’s Executive Director, “It is especially relevant today to recognize the work of these extraordinary entrepreneurs, all of whom have done well by doing good.”

Each of the honorees has created an enterprise of at least $50 million in annual revenues and/or equivalent measurable positive social or environmental impact. Every award winner was rigorously vetted by a panel of 20 judges representing corporate peers, industry experts, and business and organizational leaders.

There are five categories of inductees, and the results will be announced in stages building up to the final Hall of Fame awards ceremony on November 13^th. Fisher, Conley, Fraser, and Poon Tip are honorees in the category of Workplace Champions.

“A Workplace Champion is an innovative, values-driven leader who is extremely skilled in creating healthy, collaborative and meaningful work environments,” defines Deb Nelson. “Successful companies are the result of positive company cultures, and these leaders artfully motivate and engage their employees.”

The inductees in this category came from very different spheres of the business world, but what they share in common is that they all built highly successful companies while also building up their people and empowering them to do their best work.

For more updates on the SVN Hall of Fame Celebration, and to buy tickets, visit http://svn.org/HoF.

Workplace Champion Award Winners:

Eileen Fisher founder of EILEEN FISHER Inc.
EILEEN FISHER Inc. was named one of the 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America for four years in a row. The company prides itself on work/life balance and socially-conscious initiatives and provides grants for innovative, women-owned businesses. All EILEEN FISHER factories are SA8000 certified, one of the world’s most comprehensive workplace standards. In 2006, Fisher converted 31 per cent of her $300-million company into an employee stock-ownership plan (ESOP) with intentions to move the entire company into an ESOP.

Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre and New York Times best-selling author of Emotional Equations.
Chip Conley built Joie de Vivre,  the second largest boutique hotel company in the U.S., by understanding the intersection of psychology and business, and leading with emotional intelligence. With over 35 award-winning hotels, restaurants and spas and more than 3,000 employees, Conley credits his company’s success to empowering staff to discover their calling and apply creativity to their work. The company focuses on five employee areas: participation, entrepreneurship, celebration, diversity, and employee development. Employees can meet and talk with the CEO, teach courses at the Joie de Vivre University, and are recognized in multiple ways including a quarterly two-night hotel stay. Workplace Champion Hall of Fame honouree Conley will also be presenting at SVN’s Spring Conference in April 2012.

Margot Fraser, founder of Birkenstock USA.
Margot Fraser created the kind of company she’d want to work for: one that is fair, empowers its employees to do their best work, and respects the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Knowing that the key to taking care of customers was taking care of employees, Fraser always put the employees first. In 2002, Fraser retired as CEO of Birkenstock USA but stayed on as Chairperson. She passed on the shares of the business she founded more than 35 years earlier to her successors — the employees.

Bruce Poon Tip, CEO and founder of G Adventures.
Bruce Poon Tip founded G Adventures with the belief that authentic travel and new experiences can change people’s lives. This mantra remains at the core of the company’s culture, which celebrates individuality, champions diversity and inspires innovation.  The company prides itself on sharing wealth with employees and practicing workplace democracy. Last year, G Adventures was named one of Canada’s 50 Most Engaged Workplaces.

About SVN
Since 1987, Social Venture Network (www.svn.org) has been at the forefront of the socially responsible business movement, connecting, leveraging, and promoting a world-class community of more than 500 innovative entrepreneurs working to change the way the world does business and the way that business affects the world. SVN connects the leaders of socially responsible enterprises to share lessons and resources, form strategic alliances, and explore new solutions that build a more just and sustainable economy.

Interviews with SVN representatives and Hall of Fame honorees available upon request.

Social Venture Network

Social Venture Network

Since 1987, Social Venture Network (www.svn.org) has been at the forefront of the socially responsible business movement, connecting, leveraging, and promoting a world-class community of more than 500 innovative entrepreneurs working to change the way the world does business and the way that business affects the world. SVN connects the leaders of socially responsible enterprises to share lessons and resources, form strategic alliances, and explore new solutions that build a more just and sustainable economy.

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