Horst Rechelbacher

Horst M. Rechelbacher, who founded Aveda in 1978, is an active environmentalist, innovative business leader, author and artist.

Born in Austria, the son of an herbalist and naturalist, Horst began a three-year apprenticeship in the beauty and salon industry at the age of 14. Since the mid-1960's, he has specialized in analyzing the chemical constitution of plants while pioneering the practical use of flowers, plant-based flavor-aroma-therapy™, functional foods and nutraceuticals for the benefit of personal health and well-being. In his continuing effort to study plant-based medicine, he has collaborated with noted physicians, chemists and pharmacognosists as well as experts and traditional healers throughout the world—especially in India and Asia—and with tribes in the Brazilian Rainforest and North America. Horst is the recipient of Honoris Causa doctorate in Ayurveda from Gurukul Mahavidyalaya Twalapur, Haridwar University, and an Honoris Causa doctorate from Hindi University.

Horst was voted by the Austrian press as one of the most notable Austrians living in America. In 2004, Horst was awarded a beauty industry Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also an advisor and supporter of United Plant Savers and the Cancer Prevention Coalition. In addition, he is the founder and chairman of the Horst M. Rechelbacher Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to social and environmental preservation projects that operate on a grassroots level. One of the three original founders of BSR—Business for Social Responsibility—Horst supports his belief that businesses have not only the responsibility, but the opportunity, to provide sustainability to all living species.

Horst has authored two books—Rejuvenation and Aveda Rituals—and is currently working on his third, The Business of Being. Inspiring and practical, his books discuss the interconnectedness of all domains: of health and beauty; of mind, body, and spirit; of our bodies—and the larger body we must care for, Earth. Horst lectures internationally on topics ranging from socially responsible businesses to petrochemical-based societies—versus plant-based societies—to the mutual dependence of all things. He also specializes in and teaches team and environmentally integrated business management. He was the executive producer on Hidden Medicine, a film that premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

Horst currently resides in Wisconsin and New York City. He continues to promote sustainable development and constructive environmental practices through profit and non-profit organizations.

Horst M. Rechelbacher - Founder, Aveda