# Pete Kadens

> Pete Kadens is a Chicago-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, a co-founder and former CEO of Green Thumb Industries, and co-founder of SoCore Energy. As founder and co-chair of Hope Chicago and chairman of the Kadens Family Foundation, he focuses on education access and economic mobility, including scholarships that support both students and a parent or guardian.

- **Role:** Founder & Co-Chair at Hope Chicago; Chairman at The Kadens Family Foundation
- **Organizations:** Hope Chicago, The Kadens Family Foundation, HOPE Toledo (founder), Green Thumb Industries (co-founder; former CEO and director), SoCore Energy (co-founder; former executive), StreetWise (chairman emeritus), Katalyst Capital (chairman), Aspen Institute (2019 Henry Crown Fellow), New Era ADR (advisor)
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Bucknell University, Ottawa Hills High School
- **Known for:** Co-founded SoCore Energy, acquired by Edison International in 2013., Helped build GTI into a multistate business and served as CEO until August 2018., Established a two-generation education promise at Scott High School in Toledo.

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Graduated from Bucknell University with a BA in Political Science.
- **Early career (date unspecified)** — Worked at UBS before founding an outsourced sales business.
- **2008** — Co-founded SoCore Energy with fellow Bucknell alumnus Glen Tullman.
- **2013** — Edison International acquired SoCore Energy; Kadens remained an executive until 2015.
- **2015** — Helped establish Green Thumb Industries operations outside Illinois with Ben Kovler; GTI itself was founded in 2014.
- **2018** — Stepped down as GTI CEO effective August 29; Ben Kovler succeeded him.
- **2019** — Left the GTI board effective February 15 to focus on philanthropy; selected as a Henry Crown Fellow.
- **2020** — Announced college or trade-school funding for Scott High School graduating seniors and one parent or guardian on January 29.
- **2021** — Co-founded Hope Chicago with Ted Koenig.
- **2022** — Hope Chicago announced debt-free postsecondary scholarships for approximately 4,000 enrolled students at five Chicago public high schools and one parent or guardian per participating family.
- **2025** — Announced plans for a yearlong sabbatical beginning July 1, retaining involvement in Hope Chicago.

## Achievements

- Co-founded SoCore Energy, acquired by Edison International in 2013.
- Helped build GTI into a multistate business and served as CEO until August 2018.
- Established a two-generation education promise at Scott High School in Toledo.
- Co-founded Hope Chicago, which supports students and parents pursuing postsecondary credentials.
- Selected as a 2019 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
- Named to Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 in 2012.
- Received Bucknell’s Distinguished Alumnus for Citizenship honor in 2010.
- Honored with Amy Kadens by Cara Collective with its 2019 Trailblazer Award.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Hope Chicago reported more than $60 million invested since 2022 in pathways for over 3,000 students and parents; announced support for more than 800 additional students from the high-school class of 2027.
- **2026-05** — Hope Chicago celebrated its first wave of four-year graduates, as described in its August 2026 release.
- **2025-11** — HOPE Toledo’s college Promise program moved to Greater Toledo Community Foundation management following funding difficulties; the foundation established the Scott Promise Fund with anonymous donors. This is an organizational update, not a claim about Kadens’s personal finances.
- **2025-07** — Kadens’s announced yearlong sabbatical was scheduled to begin July 1; he said Hope Chicago would remain an exception.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petekadens

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pete-kadens
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23