Honest Tea Tea-Eo Seth Goldman Will Keynote NAMAs Coffee Tea Water Show

CHICAGO -- Honest Tea president and TeaEO Seth Goldman will be the keynote speaker at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's Coffee, Tea & Water show and symposium, which runs Nov. 2-4 in Washington, DC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Goldman, who cofounded the organic ready-to-drink tea company, will deliver his address, titled "Driving Growth through Innovation," at CTW's opening general session on Monday, Nov. 2. He is expected to share insights on building a successful business through passion, innovation, creative problem solving and staying true to an organization's mission.

An entrepreneur and activist, he ran lemonade stands and newspaper routes as a child, created a nonprofit urban service program and nearly pursued a prize-winning biotechnology idea before starting Honest Tea in his kitchen.

Available in more than 100,000 outlets across the U.S., Honest Tea was repeatedly recognized as one of Inc. magazine's fastest growing companies, expanding from five thermoses to more than 100 million bottles a year. In 2011, Coca-Cola purchased the company, making Honest Tea the first organic and Fair Trade brand in the world's largest beverage distribution system.

In addition to leading his company as TeaEO, Goldman co-authored the book Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently -- and Succeeding (Crown Business, 2013) with his Honest Tea cofounder and former professor, Barry Nalebuff of Yale University.

Before launching Honest Tea, Goldman served as vice president of the Calvert Group, where he managed the marketing and sales efforts for its family of socially responsible mutual funds. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the Yale School of Management and holds an honorary doctorate of laws from American University.