Buddy Teaster

CEO Soles4Souls

Buddy is CEO of Soles4Souls, the largest not-for-profit shoe and apparel social enterprise in the U.S. In addition to the free distribution of new footwear and apparel, Soles4Souls distributes shoes and clothes through its micro-enterprise programs to create sustainable jobs in developing countries. His experience at Soles4Souls, along with the organization’s global economic impact, is chronicled in his book, Shoestrings: How Your Donated Shoes and Clothes Help People Pull Themselves Out of Poverty (2018). 

Buddy was recently named to the National Retail Federation’s 2018 List of People Shaping Retail’s Future. Prior to Soles4Souls, Teaster was the President/COO of StarKart and the National Association of Local Advertisers. From 2002-2009, he served as Chief Network Officer for Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), the largest CEO network in the world with more than 25,000 CEOs in 130 countries. Teaster earned his BA in Religious Studies and French from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, and holds an MBA/MA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.