Daniel Lubetzky is a Mexican-American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, author, and founder and executive chairman of snack company Kind LLC.
Early life and education
The son of a Holocaust survivor and a Mexican Jew of Lithuanian ancestry, Lubetzky's father was a partner in International Bonded Warehouses and in United Export Trading Association, both duty-free shop chains with headquartered in Laredo, Texas. Lubetzky was born in 1968 and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. As a teenager, he moved with his family to the U.S. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international relations, graduating magna cum laude, from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. As an undergraduate, he studied abroad in both Israel and France. Lubetzky then earned his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1993. Lubetzky is cousin of Oscar-winning cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki.
Career
During his college years in Texas, Lubetzky created a retail watch operation, Da'Leky Times. After graduating from law school, Lubetzky worked briefly at Sullivan & Cromwell and at McKinsey & Company. In 1993, Lubetzky was awarded a Haas Koshland Fellowship to write about legislative means to foster joint ventures between Arabs and Israelis. While carrying out his research, he discovered a sundried tomato product that provided the foundation for PeaceWorks Inc. in 1994. PeaceWorks is a “not-ONLY-for-profit”® business corporation pursuing both peace and profit. Its flagship brand – Meditalia –is made through cooperation among neighbors striving to co-exist in the Middle East. In 2003, unhappy with unhealthy or unappetizing snacking choices, and concerned with the rising obesity and diabetes epidemic in America, Lubetzky launched KIND Snacks with the value proposition of being “KIND to your body, your taste buds and your world”. KIND has since become the fastest-growing snack company in the US. In 2010, Lubetzky co-founded Maiyet, a luxury fashion venture committed to forging partnerships with artisans in some of the world's developing economies to create high end and unique products, while promoting self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. Lubetzky is the author of The New York Times bestseller, Do the KIND Thing. In 2015 President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker named him a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. In 2018, Lubetzky founded New York-based family office, Equilibra, which backs entrepreneur-run businesses that offer packaged goods to consumers; investments include Greek yogurt brand Ellenos, and social enterprise Yellow Leaf Hammocks. Daniel was a guest shark on Shark Tank Season 11. As of June 2020 Lubetzky had a net worth of $1.2 billion.
Philanthropy
In 2002, he co-founded the OneVoice Movement, an international grassroots effort, to amplify the voices of moderate Israelis and Palestinians seeking to end the conflict. In 2015, Lubetzky and KIND Snacks created the KIND Foundation. Its signature initiative, Empatico, is a video-conferencing and digital learning platform that connects classrooms around the world designed to help kids explore their similarities and differences and expand their world views. In 2017, he launched a public advocacy organization called Feed the Truth to counteract the food industry's influence on food policy and public health. He pledged $25 million to fund the organization. In 2019, he was appointed to the Anti-Defamation League's Inaugural Board of Directors. In April 2020, Daniel Lubetzky's KIND Foundation, launched the Frontline Impact Project in consultation with Project N95. The Project is a platform for healthcare and other frontline responders to request resources needed in the fight against Covid-19. As of May 14, Frontline Impact Project has partnered with more than 40 brands like Unilever, Nestle, and Mars Incorporated, reaching more than 180,000 people working mostly in hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient medical practices.
Recognition
Koshland Fellowship 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by World Economic Forum Trinity Outstanding Alumnus Award World Association of NGOs bestowed him with its Peace, Reconciliation and Security Award Catholic Theological Union’s Blessed Are the Peacemakers Award King Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Prize Named Young Leaders Forum Fellow by National Committee for United States-China Relations Named as One of “43 Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World by Fast Company.” Recognized as a Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship Named among “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs” Named among “25 Responsibility Pioneers” of social innovation by TIME Magazine Selected as Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneur Magazine. Named among Advertising Age's 50 Most Creative People Named among 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2013 Award Heroes of Conscious Capitalism 2017 Common Ground Awards Winner Hispanic Heritage Award Horatio Alger Award
Personal life
In March 2008, Lubetzky married Michelle Lynn Lieberman, a physician, daughter of Joanne Lieberman and Michael Lieberman of Silver Spring, Maryland, with Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg officiating at a civil service in San Antonio, Texas. They have four children.
