Daniel Spitzer is a mission-driven entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to building businesses that solve big problems at scale. It’s a journey that started seeing the socio-economic and environmental challenges faced in the region, and coming to the belief that private business was the best way to address those issues.In the years that followed, Spitzer built a vertically integrated forestry products manufacturer (TPP) that planted over 100 million trees as part of its business model, and shortly thereafter built Mountain Hazelnuts. An organization that has become one of the largest private employers in Bhutan.While Spitzer's journey into mission-driven may seem counterintuitive, Spitzer's work highlights the impact that mission-driven entrepreneurs can play in addressing large scale social and environmental issues, and through this interview I hope you will be inspired to think about how you too can deliver impact AT SCALE.About DanielDaniel Spitzer is Chairman & CEO of Mountain Hazelnuts Group, a major agri-business that is planting 10 million hazelnut trees on deforested mountain slopes in Bhutan. The Company’s mission is to generate strong financial returns while creating sustainable income for 15% of Bhutan’s population, while addressing the country’s key social and environmental issues. Since 1993, Daniel has developed ventures that successfully combine financial objectives with social and environmental goals, including Plantation Timber Products, which he built into China's largest sustainable forestry company. With state-of-the-art processing facilities and 1,000 PTP retail stores, PTP engaged 700,000 subsistence farmers in planting fast-cycle trees used to produce fiberboard panels as an import substitute for plywood made from SE Asian rainforests. Previously, Daniel was Partner & Managing Director of the General Atlantic Group in Asia. Spitzer received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters degree from Stanford University. Daniel is married to his business partner, Teresa Law, with whom he has a grown son and daughter.Follow DanielWebsite: LinkedIn:Facebook:About RichDriven by the belief that change begins with a single step, Richard Brubaker has spent the last 15 years in Asia working to engage, inspire, and equip those around him to take their first step.Acting as a catalyst to driving sustainability, Brubaker works with government, corporate, academic and non-profit stakeholders to bring together knowledge, teams, and tools that develop and execute their business case for sustainability.Follow RichWebsite: http://www.richbrubaker.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brubakerLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrubakerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/richbrubakerContact Richsocial@richbrubaker.com
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