At the height of an award-winning career as a creative director in advertising, Marc Stoiber just up and left for greener pastures.

“We moved back to Vancouver from Toronto, and we had a baby boy. When you have a child, you start to reassess what you’ve been doing,” Marc says. “I just thought, I’m selling the same old stuff I’ve always sold, and I haven’t bothered to ask the hard question: ‘Why?’” Asking that question motivated Stoiber to make a change. Literally. In 2005, he launched Change, an agency that brands businesses embracing sustainability.

At Change, Marc dresses sustainability up and makes it sexy. “When it started out… sustainability was so hopelessly frumpy and proletariat. I said, ‘Somebody has gotta figure out that what draws people is a beautiful package.’ Because if it ain’t pretty, nobody cares if it’s green.”

These days, sustainability is hot, Change is creating buzz, and Marc has some big ideas for the future. “I plan to make a ton of money, sell to a huge corporation, and then just get a huge speedboat with three turbodiesel engines,” he deadpans.

But seriously, folks: “Actually, we want to stay a boutique brand and play more of an influential role with corporations as they’re moving towards green, moving towards innovation,” he says.

What really gets Marc excited, though, is his son Dexter, 5—and Dexter’s view of the world.
“He reminds me that life can be really fun without getting terribly complicated. He doesn’t give a crap about money or success or anything. He just wants to go play.”

—Jennifer Croll