The Sustainability Consortium announces Christy Slay as interim CEO

The Sustainability Consortium announced Monday that Euan Murray will be stepping down as CEO as of Nov. 5 to take a position at NatureMetrics, and Christy Slay will step up as interim CEO effective Nov. 8.

In his five years as CEO of the consortium and before that as COO and chief strategy officer, Murray has led a transformation of the organization through an unprecedented period of growth as the needs of the sustainability industry have changed rapidly. Under his leadership, the consortium now has more than 1,500 suppliers, 80-plus members and 13 retailers using its tools, covering almost $1 trillion in retail sales.

Murray’s accomplishments during the last five years are numerous, from launching and developing The Sustainability Insight System (THESIS) to forging important new partnerships with companies all over the globe in the pursuit of the consortium's mission: transforming the consumer goods industry to deliver more sustainable consumer products..

Slay was named interim CEO in an announcement to consoritum members on Oct. 12. Slay began with The Sustainability Consortium in its founding year in 2009 and has held many leadership roles, including her current role as senior director, science and research applications. Additionally, Slay leads the way on strategic planning for THESIS, directs the technical team on THESIS content creation, led the development of the consoritum's commodity mapping program and is the lead on several large grants.

Slay has recently been published in Science and in Nature Climate Change, and holds adjunct faculty positions at both the University of Arkansas’ Walton College Graduate School of Business and ASU’s College of Integrative Science and Arts. Slay came to The Sustainability Consortium from the National Audubon Society.

“We thank Euan for his long service to TSC during a time of growth and change for TSC," said Jon Johnson, The Sustainability Consortium chairman of the board. "TSC would not be as strong as it is, with such dedicated staff and members, without Euan’s leadership. Euan’s goal of impact at scale for TSC is off and running. We are grateful for his leadership, and Christy has my full support to step into this role. She is supported by one of the strongest leadership teams in the industry, and I know they will continue TSC’s success.”

Murray thanked the the consortium team, members and partners for their many contributions and accomplishments.

“I am immensely proud of everything TSC has done over the last 5 years. I know I am leaving TSC in great hands with Christy as interim CEO and the fantastic staff at an organization with a mission close to my heart,” Murray said.

In her interim role as The Consortium Sustainability CEO, Slay writes, “As a TSC ‘insider,’ I know the heart and soul of this organization is our staff, our members and our partners. I am honored to step into this interim position to seamlessly continue our mission and strategic direction forward.”

Slay will work alongside Johnson and the consortium managing board to begin the process of evaluating the opportunity for the group's next CEO. The Sustainability Consortium's board is made up of consortium All Access members that include retailers, brands, nongovernmental organizations and universities. Current board members include representatives from Walmart, Unilever, Henkel, PepsiCo, HSBC, the Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Cornell University, Wageningen University and Research, ASU and the University of Arkansas.