Building a company while also growing its positive impact can be a journey of learning and balancing. Impact-minded business leaders must maintain a solid bottom line to support the work that advances the company’s purpose and serves its stakeholders.
Leaders of new and old companies in varied sectors are finding ways to do just that through partnership and innovation, as demonstrated in the 2025 MO 100 Top Impact CEO Ranking. The 2025 MO 100, developed and recognized by Big Path Capital, highlights top executives who are showing how a stakeholder-focused business model can drive value and deepen impact.
Now in its eighth year, the MO 100 honors leaders who are shaping companies with a long-term vision of sustainability and shared prosperity. While numerous companies on the list are repeat honorees, several newcomers reflect the expanding role that positive impact plays in business resilience and growth. The list also includes 71 Certified B Corporations, a stakeholder-driven business framework that embeds impact improvement.
See the full 2025 MO 100 Top Impact CEO Ranking, and keep reading to learn more about a few of this year’s honorees, including a top performer, repeat honorees, and an up-and-coming leader. Amid rapid change and divisive public narratives, they share how they are doubling down on impact and purpose at their companies.
“These top-performing positive impact CEOs intertwine profit and purpose which creates value for all their stakeholders. It is a smarter way to operate a business,” said Michael Whelchel, Big Path Capital CEO and Co-Founder. “With innovative practices for collective impact, they are shaping high-growth businesses that use capitalism as an engine for social and environmental good.”
Top Performer: Steve McDougal, CEO of 3Degrees
3Degrees is a California-based B Corp that helps businesses and their customers take action on climate change. Through its work with corporations, utilities, and other organizations, 3Degrees helps organizations achieve renewable energy and decarbonization goals and build more sustainable businesses. Its services include sustainability consulting, renewable energy and carbon project development, transportation decarbonization solutions, and utility renewable energy programs.
In co-founding the company in 2007, CEO Steve McDougal combined his professional experience in strategic marketing with a desire to address the urgent challenges of climate change. Now, 3Degrees is partnering with corporations, universities, and other clients to invest in clean energy, accelerate the use of low-carbon materials, and support carbon removal projects. The B Corp also maintains a focus on employee empowerment and community involvement.
McDougal says 3Degrees introduced technology that improves access to renewable energy for customers and their suppliers. “Supply chain emissions are challenging to address and are a significant factor in many companies’ progress towards their climate targets,” he says. “Through Supplier REach, our customers can now invite their suppliers to join the portal, where they can evaluate their renewable energy options.”
Repeat Honorees: Melanie Dulbecco, CEO of Torani Syrups & Flavors, and Ken LaRoe, CEO of Climate First Bank
Torani is a century-old company in the Bay Area that creates syrups, sauces, and fruit smoothies. The family-owned B Corp puts people at the heart of its operations, prioritizing partnership and community in its business model. By valuing relationships, Torani has built a thriving company with annual sales topping $500 million and employee tenure rates 47% higher than the U.S. average.
Since 1991, CEO Melanie Dulbecco has guided Torani’s growth and commitment to people, navigating the 2008 recession and COVID-19 pandemic while avoiding layoffs. The Torani team has identified ways to build a diverse team and create strong relationships with clients and partners. As Dulbecco says: “Flavor is what we make, and it’s also what each of us brings as individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life. We believe that businesses can and should create more opportunities for people to ‘make it’ — economically, and in learning, growth, and development.”
Climate First Bank is a full-service bank focused on environmental sustainability and positive impact. Founded in 2021, the Florida-based B Corp is nurturing a growing customer base thanks to its focus on people and the planet and its commitment to good governance principles. The bank provides personal and business financial services and uses customer deposits to support initiatives for affordable housing, education, and other mission-aligned projects.
The bank is Founder Ken LaRoe’s third launch. He has incorporated lessons from his previous experience to shape a bank rooted in environmental action. With B Corp Certification, Climate First Bank has deepened its focus on employee development, community support, and customer services that address the climate crisis.
LaRoe says the bank prioritizes internal and external initiatives that amplify its positive impact. “We offer dedicated loan options for rooftop solar, energy retrofits, and infrastructure to help combat the climate crisis,” he says. “In 2024, we joined the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, a worldwide network of bank leaders working together to create a banking system that is transparent, accountable, and supports positive economic, social, and environmental change.”
Up and Coming: Jeremy Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Civitech
As a 2025 newcomer to the MO 100, Civitech rides a wave of growth due to its work to build a more fair and equitable democracy. A high-interest election year drove interest in the company’s tools and services designed to encourage voter participation. Austin, Texas-based Civitech offers resources and services that help candidates, organizations, and individuals with voter outreach and campaign strategy.
In co-founding Civitech in 2019, CEO Jeremy Smith incorporates his experience working as an organizer in dozens of campaigns. He has also worked to provide operational guidance and planning for several voter protection initiatives, helping to recruit, train, and lead attorneys countering voter suppression. Before founding Civitech, Smith launched the nonprofit Register2Vote, which created voter registration strategies that helped to identify and support more than 400,000 new voters from 2018 to 2020.
Smith says Civitech is ready to build on its momentum and continue to support voter participation in future election years. “We are doubling down on strengthening democracy by empowering progressive campaigns and organizations to register and engage voters, especially in underrepresented communities,” he says. “We remain steadfast in driving social change and expanding voter access, even during uncertain times.”