Seth Goldman

Seth Goldman (born 1965) is an American businessman. He is the former CEO of Honest Tea which he co-founded in 1998 with his former business professor, Barry Nalebuff. Goldman is the executive chairman of Beyond Meat, a plant-based protein company based in El Segundo, California.

Personal life and early career Goldman was born in 1965 and was raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is Jewish. His father is the economist Marshall Goldman, and his mother, Merle Goldman, was a professor of Chinese history at Boston University. Goldman graduated from Noble and Greenough School in 1983.

Goldman attended Harvard University, where he studied government affairs During his freshman year, he lived in Straus Hall, where NHL executive Peter Chiarelli and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were his roommates. After graduating in 1987, he taught English for a year in Russia and at a Beijing university. Afterwards, he worked on Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign in 1988. He then served for three years as a deputy press secretary for Dukakis' running mate, United States Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. He interned for the United States Department of State. Goldman and his family are vegans. He served as a vice president for the company. Goldman built an office in the guest bedroom of his home, which he shared with his wife and three small children. Jason Abbruzzese reviewed the book for the Financial Times, writing, "The narrative is at its best when balancing the personalities of the founders: Goldman's socially conscious side and Nalebuff's economic expertise."

Goldman stepped down from his role as CEO of Honest Tea in 2015 and became the executive chair of Beyond Meat. He retained ownership of no more than 10% of Honest Tea. Goldman kept the same salary as he moved to a part-time position at Honest Tea in which he would assist Coca-Cola's Venture and Emerging Brands Unit with connecting with customers. He made the change in part because his youngest son graduated from high school.

Honest Tea brand was discontinued by Coca-Cola in 2022 with the company deciding to focus on their other tea brands, Gold Peak and Peace Tea, though Honest Kids brand would remain in production.Seth Goldman Interview with Yale

Following the discontinuation, he and his co-founder at Eat the Change, Spike Mendelsohn, launched a new tea brand called Just Ice Tea

Beyond Meat After his wife reviewed a piece discussing Beyond Meat, a company that created meat substitutes, in 2012 Goldman invested in the company. He became executive chairman of Beyond Meat in 2015 and worked part-time for Honest Tea in Bethesda, Maryland and part-time for Beyond Meat in Manhattan Beach, California. When Beyond Meat held its initial public offering on May 2, 2019, Goldman owned 2% of its shares.