Lululemon (Nasdaq: LULU) CEO Laurent Potdevin recently helped build something completely different for the apparel company leader: a house.
Working with the social enterprise Giveback Homes, Potdevin helped fund the construction a home for a needy family in Nicaragua.
He shared his experience with me:
In the process of selling my home in Manhattan Beach, I was introduced to Giveback Homes through my real estate agents, Brigitte Pratt and Colleen Cole. They are both Giveback Homes Realtors and informed me that they would be donating from the transaction of selling my home to build a home for a family in Nicaragua.
I asked how much they were planning on donating and matched their donation. Between both of our donations we were able to build an entire home for a deserving family in Central America.
One of my favorite things about Giveback Homes is that they work to make sure their Realtors and clients feel a connection with the people they are helping. With every home built, the Realtors who donated to make that home possible receive a summary and photos of the family they helped and in some cases, the Realtors will join Giveback Homes team members to physically build the home.
The home we built was for Gladys and her family. Gladys was abandoned as a child. She’s now married with two children and works as a tortilla maker, her husband sells bread on the street and their combined monthly income is $200.
Before we built Gladys’ first home, she was living in a makeshift shack with dirt floors and walls made of wood scraps. When it rained, the floors in the house would turn to mud. It was my honor to help build her dream home; her first real home. Gladys is a hard worker, self-taught entrepreneur and a fighter. She fights every single day to give her children the life she wished she had, the life all children deserve; a safe place to call home and parents that love them.
I’m so thankful to my philanthropic real estate agents for introducing me to this wonderful organization. Buying and selling homes through these philanthropic agents is an easy sell in my opinion.
On Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 3:00 PM Eastern, Potdevin will join me for a live discussion of about his experiences helping to build this home. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. Post questions in the comments below or tweet questions before the interview to @devindthorpe.
You can download an audio podcast here or subscribe via iTunes.
More about Lululemon:
lululemon athletica inc (NASDAQ: LULU) is a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company with products that create transformational experiences for people to live happy, healthy, fun lives. Setting the bar in technical fabrics and functional designs, lululemon works with yogis and athletes in local communities for continuous research and product feedback.
What We Do: Elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness. Our purpose gets us out of bed in the morning. Elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness is about holding ourselves and others to our highest possibility. This is our promise to the world.
How We Do It: Our products create transformational experiences for people to live happy, healthy, fun lives.
Our mission is how we live into our purpose. The products and transformational experiences we create aren't limited to Luon--we design technical gear, throw kick-ass events and support our people with the intention of bringing happiness, health and fun to our communities.Lululemon on Youtube.
Potdevin's bio:
@laurentp1
Laurent Potdevin, CEO, brings more than 25 years in the retail industry to this role and a deep understanding of premium brands, athletic apparel, technical products, innovation and best-in-class customer experience.
Laurent previously served as President of TOMS Shoes, where he built a world-class management team, led global expansion, and broadened the company’s strong cultural identity. Prior to TOMS, Laurent spent five years as President and CEO, at Burton Snowboards where the business grew significantly under his leadership, expanding across product categories and creating international scale by always focusing on providing the best consumer experience.
Laurent first gained experience in premium, luxury brands through his tenure at LVMH where he identified the potential of the Berlutti footwear brand early on and then became Director of North American Operations for the company’s premierLouis Vuitton brand where he was integral in optimizing the brand’s North American supply chain.
As an avid snowboarder, you can find Mr. Potdevin carving it up on the mountain during the winter and on catching waves on his surfboard in the summer.
More about Giveback Homes:
Giveback Homes is a trusted network of real estate professionals dedicated to creating social change through the act of buying or selling a home. By simply choosing to work with a Giveback Homes real estate agent, mortgage broker, home builder or interior designer, you will help build a home for a family in need. People want to work with people who are doing good, and we are making it easy to find them.
Note that an earlier version of this story indicated that Giveback Homes is a nonprofit; Giveback Homes is a for-profit social enterprise.
