For Thomas M. Chappell ’66, life and work are indivisible. More than three decades ago, Chappell abandoned a successful corporate existence in Philadelphia and moved to Maine, responding to an inner call to live close to the land, practice a respect for the environment, and embrace his strong sense of community. Once in Maine, Chappell combined his interest in protecting the natural world with a desire to create products that respected the environment. He created Tom’s of Maine®, which has become the nation’s leader in natural personal-care products.

When Chappell and his wife, Kate, first moved to Kennebunk, ME, in 1970, they used natural, unprocessed foods and simple, unadulterated products, but were unable to find natural-care products and decided to create their own. They borrowed $5,000 from a friend and within a year created a laundry detergent free of phosphates. In 1975, they created the first widely marketed toothpaste free of artificial sweeteners, dyes, and additives. Since then, the company’s products have expanded to include soap, deodorant, and a new cough, cold, and wellness line ranging from a natural nasal decongestant to liquid herbal extracts.

"I have been running our company according to a mission of respecting customers, employees, community, and the environment, and we are creating more products and making more money than I ever dreamed, " Chappell writes in his book Managing Upside Down, a combination management guide and case study published last year. "Business is definitely about making money. But it is not only about making money," he writes. Chappell’s company packages its products in ways that respect the environment, never conducts tests with animals, and donates 10 percent of its profits to charities. At the same time the company generates revenues of nearly $40 million. Chappell and his innovative approach to management have been profiled in The New York Times Magazine and scores of other publications.

At Trinity, Chappell’s approach to life — and business — seemed to take hold. He majored in English but savored his classes in biology and religion. "Professor of Religion Theodore Mauch made us understand that the quest was never really for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," Chappell says. "He instilled in us that life was really about working together toward something that was worthy."

Chappell also formed a special connection with Professor of Biology Donald Galbraith, with whom he took an introductory biology class. "Understanding how life systems and organisms worked was fascinating," Chappell recalls. "If you could understand how organisms work, then you could understand how life works. I always felt there must be a parallel."

Says Galbraith, "I remember Tom as being a bright and delightful kid, someone you’re attracted to by his personality and demeanor. A year or two after graduating, he called me to ask about phosphate-free detergent. He said he was thinking of starting a little company that would make the detergent. That was the first clue I had about what he was doing until years later, when I was in England and saw a tube of Tom’s of Maine® toothpaste in a friend’s house."

Chappell’s strong sense of independence and desire to live life on his own terms were evident even at Trinity. As a senior in search of a job, he had a telling interview with one of the country’s major steel companies. "Do you have to give up your life to the company?" Chappell asked his interviewer. "It was not the question to ask," an amused Chappell recently recalled.

Temporarily placing independence in abeyance, Chappell did eventually join a prestigious company, Aetna, for whom he sold group life insurance in Philadelphia for two years. "I succeeded very quickly," he explained. "It was clear that I’d have a bright future there, but it wasn’t the future I wanted."

Seeking answers
Chappell’s future was clearly in Maine, where, by 1985, his all-natural toothpaste and soaps had become popular in health food stores and were making inroads into mainstream drugstores. But Chappell felt troubled by having everything measured in financial terms. He sought answers to his business and personal dilemma through part-time studies at Harvard Divinity School, from which he received a master’s degree in theology in 1991.

"I could not have taken the company or my life in the direction I have had it not been for four years of systematic study in theology at Harvard," Chappell says. "I am grateful that I could learn that business is not a law or a science but a habit. Studying world religions helped me understand that I could reconstruct the practice of serving customers in a way that was more holistically aligned with the universe and people’s human aspirations. As a result, we succeed far more than we would have if we were just practicing the same old maximization of shareholder gain."

Chappell hopes to set an example of ethical business standards for others. Chappell’s first book, The Soul of a Business: Managing for Profit and the Common Good, set a practical yet powerful new agenda for ethical and profitable business leadership in the 1990s. His new book, Managing Upside Down: Seven Intentions for Values-Centered Leadership, released a year ago, is a step-by-step guide outlining his management philosophy of leading with one’s values by integrating the organizational, financial, and social components of business.

His work has been recognized by regional and national organizations. He was a recipient of the 1990 New Englander Award sponsored by the Small Business Association of New England; the 1991 Entrepreneur of the Year from CNBC; and the 1995 Socially Responsible New England Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Entrepreneur of the Year Institute. Tom's of Maine® has been named among the nation’s top companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine, and as one of 30 Great Companies for Dads in Child magazine.

In such a family-friendly enterprise, it’s only natural that Chappell’s own family is closely involved. With the exception of his son Luke, who’s still in high school, all his other children, including Sarah ’92, Eliza ’97, Chris ’88, and Matt, are working in the family business.

Suzanne Zack