Washington Business Spring 2019 | Washington Business | Page 50
how i did it
The Sweet Life
Insight, advice and inside info from the CEO
of the flourishing Seattle Chocolate Co.
Brian Mittge
Leading a successful chocolate company was a big change for Jean Thompson, who was an early
employee at Microsoft and then a stay-at-home mom. What are her secrets to success? AWB
finds out in this first installment of a new Washington Business series, How I Did It.
Background
originally from:
Connecticut
education:
Bates College, a small liberal
arts school in Maine
next step:
Moved to the Seattle area in
1987 to work in communications
and marketing at Microsoft.
second act:
Stay-at-home mom for nine
years with her two children.
rescuing the company:
An investor in Seattle Chocolate,
she stepped into leadership as
the company faced a crisis in
2001. That year’s earthquake
had heavily damaged its Pioneer
Square building. With little
experience, she made mistakes
but found her way.
hobbies:
Hiking, skiing, exploring the
outdoors, traveling.
Seattle Chocolate Co.:
www.seattlechocolate.com
50 association of washington business
Jean Thompson, CEO and president of Seattle Chocolate Co., is in her third act in life, and
she’s having a blast.
She uses the lessons she learned as a marketing manager during the early days at
Microsoft as she produces high-end chocolates with Northwest flair and flavor.
Thompson walked Washington Business through her company’s Tukwila production
facility and sat down in her corner office to kick off a new series, “How I Did It.”
Between nibbles of her new jcoco line of gourmet chocolate, she told us how she went
from stay-at-home mom to sudden CEO of a business in an earthquake-damaged building,
to leader of a growing company.
She shared a few lessons learned, including her biggest mistakes, what she’d do
differently, how to hire the right people, and the best advice she ever received.