Thomas Matthew Chappell (born 1943) is an American businessman and manufacturer who co-founded

Tom's of Maine Tom's of Maine is a brand name and manufacturing company of natural personal care products. Tom's of Maine has been a majority-owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006. The company's products are sourced and derived from nature, with form ...

in 1970, and Ramblers Way, a wool clothing company, with his wife, artist

Kate Chappell Kate Cheney Chappell (born 1942) is an American businesswoman, artist, and manufacturer. She co-founded personal-care product manufacturer Tom's of Maine in 1970 as well as wool clothing manufacturer Ramblers Way in 2010 with her husband Tom ...

. Chappell graduated from the

Moses Brown School Moses Brown School is an independent Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. It was founded in 1784 by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, and is one of the oldest prepara ...

in Providence, Rhode Island in 1961, and from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, with a B.A. in English in 1966. Chappell and his wife, cofounder Kate Chappell, moved to

Kennebunk, Maine Kennebunk is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 11,536 at the 2020 census (The population does not include Kennebunkport, a separate town). Kennebunk is home to several beaches, the Rachel Carson National Wildlife R ...

, in 1968 to raise their family. Tom and Kate now share a summer home on

Monhegan, Maine Monhegan () is an island in the Gulf of Maine located in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. A plantation, a minor civil division in the state of Maine falling between unincorporated area and a town, it is located about off the mainland. Th ...

. Chappell earned a

Masters in Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

in 1991. He is active in the Episcopal Church of Maine, was a deputy to the 1991 and 1994 Triennial General Conference of the Episcopal Church, and was a member of the Environmental Stewardship Team of the national Episcopal Church. He is active in many cultural and philanthropic organizations, among them the Dean's Council for Harvard Divinity School, the Advisory Council for the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard Divinity School, and the Board of Fellows for Harvard's School of Dental Medicine. He has authored several books, including ''The Soul of a Business: Managing for Profit and the Common Good'' and ''Managing Upside Down: Seven Intentions for Values-Centered Leadership''. In 2006, a controlling 84% stake in Tom's of Maine was purchased by

Colgate-Palmolive Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health car ...

for $100 million.Reidy, Chris (March 22, 2006)
Colgate will buy Tom's of Maine.
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' In 2009, he and his wife received honorary degrees from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

.Colby College website
Retrieved June 17, 2013. In 2010, Chappell and his wife founded

Ramblers Way The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...

, a wool apparel company. The clothing is made from American-raised

Rambouillet sheep The Rambouillet is a breed of sheep in the genus Ovis. It is also known as the Rambouillet Merino or the French Merino. The development of the Rambouillet breed started in 1786, when Louis XVI purchased over 300 Spanish Merinos (318 ewes, 41 rams ...

wool, silk thread, and vegetable dyes, and spinning, weaving, and knitting is done in East coast states to keep the sourcing local and sustainable. The silk thread used is a reminder of the

Cheney silk mills Cheney often refers to: * Cheney (surname), people with the name ** C. R. Cheney (1906-1987), English historian ** Dick Cheney (born 1941), 46th vice president of the United States ** Liz Cheney (born 1966), American attorney and Wyoming conservativ ...

. Kate is a descendant of the Cheney family.

References

External links

Thomas M. Chappell corporate biography
1943 births Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni Harvard Divinity School alumni Living people American Episcopalians People from Kennebunk, Maine 20th-century American businesspeople Moses Brown School alumni {{US-business-bio-1940s-stub