Pauline Brown
Pauline Brown is a longtime leader in luxury goods and former Chairman of LVMH North America, renowned for acquiring, building, and leading some of the world’s most influential brands.
In her groundbreaking new book, Aesthetic Intelligence, she shows businesspeople how to harness the power of their own senses to create products and services that delight their customers and build businesses that last. Her book is based on a course that she designed and taught at Harvard Business School.
Pauline began her career as a Consultant at Bain and subsequently held senior executive roles at Estee Lauder, Avon and The Carlyle Group.
She currently is an Executive-in-Residence at Columbia Business School, a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and the host of two radio shows on SiriusXM, “Trendsetters” & Tastemakers”.
3 words to describe Nature?
Invincible. Boundless. Magnificent
3 things Nature taught you?
To trust my instincts (they're far more prescient than my thoughts)
To embrace the untamed aesthetic (it's far more vibrant than anything man-made
To accept mortality (it's not the end of a life cycle, but the beginning of a new one)
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Table Mountain, Cape Town
Maroon Lake, Aspen
The Geysers of Iceland
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Transported
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Enveloped
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Roused
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Wonderstruck
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Vivified
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Restive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
9
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I grew up on the North Shore of Long Island. I still can smell the air, taste the fishy water, and feel the sand under my wet swimsuit.
Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, founder of Aqua-Guard Spill Response, and co-host of the podcast "Impact". His company, a global leader in oil spill control, protects water, the world’s most precious resource.
Both Nigel and Aqua-Guard have received multiple awards for their innovation, business excellence, and entrepreneurialism.
Nigel received the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s 2018 Distinguished Alumni of the year Award.
Nigel has devoted his life to environmental and social responsibility and boldly advocates for “risking it all for what really matters” among the entrepreneurial tribes to which he belongs. Nigel speaks and consults with entrepreneurs and young people worldwide about bringing their talents to solving some of our planet’s most pressing challenges.
In 2012, Nigel set up his business to run without him, See what he did with his newfound freedom and see how he (with the help of his coach) has been able to create a life that most people dream of.
An active philanthropist, Nigel donates all profit from his book sales (Take that Leap – Risking it all for what really matters) and speaking engagements to organizations that support poverty alleviation, human rights, social services, and the environment.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calm. Great reverence. Beauty
3 things Nature taught you?
To have great respect for all things.
Made me very humble
Taught me how to heal
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Solo in the wild, on top of mountains, so:
Whistler area,
North Vancouver Seymour River valley,
Mt. Magilvery area (Whitecap backcountry hut)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm and inspired
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm and in awe
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
In awe
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Beauty and respect for silence
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
The power of nature
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cleansing
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mostly Ocean, Mountain and Forest
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 16 I used to climb solo up to the top of Black Mountain in the snow up a gully to the summit and sit and meditate looking out at the Lion Mountains and then return.
Greg Thomsen
Greg Thomsen is one of the most successful and well-respected leaders in the outdoor industry. A close friend to legendary climber and writer John Long, Greg has had almost every job imaginable in the outdoor industry. In 1972, he co-founded Wilderness Experience, the first outdoor company to go public and be traded not he NASDAQ stock exchange. In 1987, Nike hired him as Global Director of Marketing for Apparel, where he created the ACG (All Conditions Gear). In 1990, Greg co-founded the American Sports Group (ASG), where for almost 20 years his company created thousands of products for hundreds of companies. In 2007, after owning several outdoor brands such as Mountainsmith, Youngstown, and Detours, he sold everything and lived a nomadic life, traveling around the world for one year with his family - "It was the best year of my life" he says. For the last decade, Thomsen has served as the Chief Outdoor Officer of adidas Outdoor, growing the brand exponentially in the U.S. In 2019, Greg received the Inspiration Awards Lifetime Achievement.
3 words to describe Nature?
Life. Love. Breathtaking.
3 things Nature taught you?
Overall nature has taught me to be mindful and to live in the moment.
Living in natural environments has taught me both the fragility and the strength of life and to not to take either for granted.
Nature has shown me that “everything” is connected.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Sierra
Bhutan
Hawaii
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small and insignificant but free and limitless.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
At home and at peace. Comfortable and calm.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Amazed at the power of nature. Flying over a volcano they appear to be alive and on a mission of creation.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I love both sunrise and sunsets, they make me feel there is magic in the universe. The ultimate cycle of life.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
I’m am ...thrilled by the natural power I feel when I hear thunder and see lightning. Thunder comforts me and reminds me that the real world is alive.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
A bit disoriented. I am not in love with howling wind as it makes me anxious of what is coming.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am absolutely a Mountain person! I feel most comfortable and alive in big mountain environments. Forest and Deserts calm me and Oceans generally frighten me to my inner core with their enormous power and unpredictability.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Nature is absolutely a 10 for my well-being. Without Nature what else is there?
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My father loved the outdoors, hiking, fishing and camping. Our family spent every summer camping in the Mammoth Lakes area in the Sierra. It was what we did as a family since I was 2 years old, so it holds a very special place in my childhood memories. When I was 12 and my brother was 16 we decided we would try to climb to the top of Crystal Crag, a prominent granite spire overlooking the Mammoth Lakes area. We summited after some difficult steep and exposed 5th class solo climbing and descended the face as our parents were having lunch below the crag at a dock side restaurant on lake Mary. At a table next to my parents a man and his wife, watched our precarious descent, and leaned over to asked my father “what kind of parents would let their children do such a dangerous climb”
It was at that moment my parents realized it was my brother and me descending the face. Of course they didn’t tell the outraged couple.
When we arrived back at our family tent we were first scolded for taking such a risk but it then turned to laughter as they told us the story about the horrified onlookers from the next table and not telling them that those unsupervised risk takers were their children! It became a family story that was retold for years to come, over much laughter and love. Both my brother and I went on to more and more serious climbing adventures and exploration experiences around the World that has both defined and enriched our life’s path.
Maria Jenson
Maria Jenson is recognized as a leader in the arts nationally for advancing innovative strategies to sustain creative communities in the midst of rapidly changing urban environments. As Creative and Executive Director of SOMArts, Jenson has deepened the organization’s commitment to racial equity, creating clear pathways for Bay Area artists to incubate new ideas and grow their careers. Through her leadership, Maria has expanded SOMArts’ educational and public programs, advanced new public-private partnerships, and fostered groundbreaking exhibitions such as The Black Woman is God, The Third Muslim: Queer and Trans* Muslim Narratives of Resistance and Resilience, and many more. These initiatives further SOMArts’ mission to engage the Bay Area’s diverse cultural communities in inspiring creative encounters at the intersection of art and social justice.
As an ardent advocate for the civic and democratic roles cultural institutions should play, Jenson has championed creative projects in community-based and DIY as well as more formal and institutional spaces. Prior to joining SOMArts, Jenson was a key member of the External Relations team in the Marketing and Communications Division managing the transition, rebranding and reopening of SFMOMA during the museum’s $300 million expansion. At SFMOMA, she worked across all departments as a lead project manager on marketing and engagement initiatives and she launched innovative community partnerships as the museum’s Cultural and Civic Ambassador. Jenson produced the museum’s Economic and Cultural Impact study in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, demonstrating the crucial role of cultural institutions in the civic and economic life of San Francisco.
Jenson was the Founding Director of ArtPadSF — an independent art fair launched in 2010 in partnership with Chip Conley. ArtPadSF transformed the Phoenix Hotel into an immersive and interactive platform to engage Bay Area artists, gallerists and art lovers, and enjoyed a successful three-year run that helped to launch the careers of many emerging artists.
A graduate of the 2018 Getty Foundation Executive Leadership Institute, Jenson is a sought-after speaker and thought leader on the role of cultural institutions in fostering a more democratic and equitable society. As the Bay Area continues to change, Jenson is leading SOMArts into its next iteration, strengthening and activating all parts of SOMArts' multivalent programming, including growing the organization's site-specific commissions and programs, as well as reinvigorating its artistic presence in the Bay Area.
3 words to describe Nature?
Solitude. Grace. Ancestral
3 things Nature taught you?
Resistance
Adaptability
Collaboration
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Leo Carillo Beach (Malibu, CA)
Multnomah Falls (Oregon)
Cadeques, Spain
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At peace and whole
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Mythic, rooted
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Powerful
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Hopeful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Sensual, alert, focused
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Edgy
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Planting a tree in my backyard and watching it grow over the years.