Melaleuca Executive Chairman Frank VanderSloot
Frank VanderSloot founded Melaleuca: The Wellness Company since in 1985 and served as the company’s CEO for 37 before he took on the role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
But before Frank ever conceived of Melaleuca, he learned the value of hard work on his family’s farm in northern Idaho. Working for the railroad, Frank’s father was usually gone during the week, leaving young Frank to manage the farm. He woke up early and got to bed late, with not much time for anything other than farmwork and schoolwork. Though his childhood was difficult and his family lived largely in poverty, Frank had a wonderful family life and learned many important lessons from his mother and father.
Frank was the first person in his family to attend a university. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and graduated with a degree in business management. And he did so without debt by living rent-free in a tiny apartment attached to the laundromat that he cleaned as a job.
Before founding Melaleuca, Frank worked for two different Fortune 500 companies, serving as a Regional Vice President at Automated Data Processing (ADP) before then becoming Vice President at Cox Communications.
When Melaleuca began, it was a small operation with only a handful of employees and a handful of products, all of which incorporated melaleuca alternifolia oil. But Frank didn’t plan on the company remaining just a local establishment. As Melaleuca CEO, Frank guided the company into an international enterprise. In 2017, Melaleuca began earning $2 billion in annual revenue.
Today the company operates in 20 different countries and territories and ships its more than 400 products to more than 2 million households.
Under Frank’s leadership, Melaleuca has been recognized by Inc. magazine and the US Chamber of Commerce, and it has been named by Forbes magazine as one of America’s best employers for four consecutive years. Frank has also been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, CNN, and USA Today.
Frank has served as a board member on the US Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years. He is also a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, and he has received US Chamber of Commerce’s Blue Chip Award. Frank has been inducted into the Idaho Technology Council’s Hall of Fame, and he received Idaho Business Review’s Icon Award.
Philanthropy
Frank has always believed in the power of philanthropy. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Frank established the Melaleuca Foundation to raise money for the “forgotten” families of 9/11. Since then, the foundation has raised millions of dollars for charity work and has provided relief after natural disasters, supported educational programs, and provided resources to feed the hungry. The Melaleuca Foundation is also the sole financial supporter of an orphanage in Quito, Ecuador.
When wildfires devastated western Maui, Frank took action and donated 20,000 pounds of beef from his meat-processing facility in Oahu. Frank worked with local ranchers, chefs, and nonprofits as well as government agencies to ensure the beef fed the wildfire victims, which it did—for 2 months!
From 2012 to 2013, Frank and Belinda donated $2 million to restoring the New Sweden schoolhouse, a historic school outside Idaho Falls that served students from 1927 to 1979. The building sat vacant for decades, facing deterioration and vandalism, but now it is a rejuvenated and lively schoolhouse. The school was donated to American Heritage Charter School, and since then, extra outbuildings have been built to accommodate the school’s student population.
Riverbend Ranch
Growing up on a farm, Frank has always loved working the land and raising animals. In 1992, he traced back to his roots when he and his wife Belinda founded Riverbend Ranch. Through selective individual purchases of bulls and cows, the couple slowly grew their operation. Today, Riverbend Ranch is one the largest Black Angus ranches and commercial cattle operations in the United States.
In 2023, Frank announced the completion of a Riverbend Ranch meat-processing plant outside Idaho Falls, and with that announcement, he also announced that Riverbend Ranch would become a division of Melaleuca. Since that time, Melaleuca customers have been able to purchase and enjoy Riverbend Ranch Black Label Beef through Melaleuca.