Lagrange, Ga.—Lindsay James, a seven-year veteran of Interface Americas who most recently was the modular carpet tile manufacturer’s director of strategic sustainability, has been named vice president of Restorative Enterprise.
In announcing the promotion, John Wells, Interface Americas’ president and CEO, explained, “The formation of the Restorative Enterprise team is a next step in our company’s journey to our 2020 Mission Zero goal and our promise to eliminate any negative impact our manufacturing and products have on the environment. This team is charged with helping to transform our company into an enterprise that restores the environment as well as preserves and protects it. This commitment genuinely fulfills the vision of our founder, Ray Anderson. And Lindsay James, one of our most passionate sustainability thought leaders, is the ideal candidate to guide us in this pursuit. She is our company’s biomimicry expert and will draw on her expertise to help us emulate nature’s mastery of restorative growth.”
James has spent her career aligning the worlds of economics and ecology, and sees radical business innovation, grounded in lessons from nature, as the key to sustainable growth. She has an M.B.A. in Sustainable Enterprise from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is one of only a handful of individuals to have completed a two-year master’s level Biomimicry Professional Certificate Program offered globally by the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute.
“Ray Anderson’s gift to Interface and modern commerce is a purpose beyond profit,” said James. “I am humbled and honored to lead a team that will continue to redefine what success means for business, stretching our notions of sustainability to include restorative or positive impacts.”
Reporting to James as director of Restorative Enterprise is Mikhail Davis, who previously was an Interface manager of Strategic Sustainability. Davis joined the company in 2011. He is a graduate of Stanford University and is at work on completing an eight-month Biomimicry Specialist Program, as well.
According to Wells, the Restorative Enterprise team will begin its work focused on Interface operations, using biomimicry and other tools to engage associates and align and expand the company’s various efforts in achieving its 2020 Mission Zero goal.
“In the end, our sustainability vision has never been about just eliminating our negative impact,” said Wells. “It’s been about leaving the world better than we found it for ‘tomorrow’s child.’ I believe that carrying on Ray Anderson’s legacy is a sacred trust that we all share, and that together we can make a powerful and positive impact on our world. We look to our Restorative Enterprise team to lead us onward in this endeavor.”