Mark Wolverton

Early life

Mark Wolverton was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, where he currently resides.

Education

In 1986, Wolverton earned his undergraduate degree in Financial Management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (B.C.I.T).

Career

After graduating from B.C.I.T, Wolverton began his career by joining his family-owned brokerage business. At Wolverton Securities, Mark was assigned to oversee a family portfolio of investments in apartment buildings, commercial space, bars, and restaurants. In 1995, Wolverton and his wife, Karen Wolverton, came across the brand Lush and fell in love with their soft colours, scents, and aesthetics. After investigating the brand and discovering that they only use fresh organic ingredients to make their products and have an anti-animal testing policy, the Wolvertons knew that bringing such a brand to Canada would be a huge success. In 1996, the Wolvertons signed an agreement contract with Lush UK, bringing the brand to Canadian markets. Mark was assigned to develop and oversee both manufacturing and retail of Lush UK in all parts of Canada. He opened several manufacturing plants across the east and west coasts of Canada, where he carried out retail operations. This turned out to be quite a success for Lush UK and motivated Mark and Karen to start working full-time and leave the family brokerage business. With Mark and Karen’s determination, Lush UK faced tremendous growth and decided to advance Mark’s position by letting him oversee the development of the US market at the retail level.

Achievement

Mark and Karen contributed to the brand’s successful global expansion, by opening more than 250 North American locations. Wolverton and his wife have generated innovative ideas such as launching a national campaign that raised over $385,000 for organizations across North America working to advance transgender rights.