MBA Student and Faculty Visit B-Corp

On March 6, AUNE MBA in Sustainability student, Vivian Zhu ’18, and MBA Program Director, Taryn Fisher, visited Chroma Technology Corp headquarters in Bellows Falls, Vermont, after Vivian made the connection that it is the parent company of Chroma China, which opened in 2010 in Fujian Province, where Vivian is from.

CEO Paul Millman, AUNE MEd ’73, talked about starting the business in 1991 and how he and his colleagues have led the company to become a leader in the optical filters industry. Chroma Technology is 100% employee-owned, with “equal profit-sharing, generous retirement and health benefits, a horizontal organizational structure and an egalitarian pay structure.”

They were certified as a B Corp in 2013. “Being a Certified B corporation allows us to show the world what we mean when we talk about our corporate responsibility and how we fulfill our commitments to our stakeholders. It also shows where we need to work harder towards our goal of good stewardship of all we have.”

During the visit, discussion ranged from research and development to quality systems, and lean manufacturing to competitive advantage. Vivian and Paul plan to meet in China this summer to further their conversations.

Learn more about Chroma Technology