Ted Dennard, C'89

Ted Dennard is on a mission to educate people around the globe about the wonders of honeybees. The founder and CEO of the Savannah Bee Company, Dennard compares his business model to a beehive, where each member has a specialized role and contributes to the overall success of the team. At its core, this strategy is about what is best for everyone—and has helped Dennard to launch his career as an entrepreneur, environmental steward, and master beekeeper. 

Dennard is the Babson Center’s Humphreys Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the 2024 spring semester. While on campus, he will meet with students and deliver a presentation, “Bee Entrepreneurial: My Journey with the Savannah Bee Company,” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in the Torian Room, duPont Library. This visit is co-sponsored by the Babson Center for Global Commerce, Sewanee’s Integrated Program in the Environment, and the Department of Earth and Environmental Systems. All are welcome. 

After selling jars of honey out of his home for several years, Dennard founded the Savannah Bee Company in 2002. The company buys fair-trade honey from around the globe and sells a wide variety of honey and other products made from the beehive:  soaps, body butters, creams, candles, lip balms, and other healing honey products. As Dennard traveled around the country, his products began selling in specialty stores like Dean & Deluca, and were recognized in magazines including Oprah Winfrey’s O, Vogue, and Southern Living. He opened his first retail store in 2008 and currently has 15 locations.  

In 2013, Dennard founded The Bee Cause Project, a non-profit organization that introduces students of all ages to bee conservation by placing glass beehives in the classroom along with educational resources. In collaboration with more than 1000 schools and organizations located in all 50 states, Canada, the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico, Dennard is raising awareness about honeybees and the critical role they play as pollinators. 

Dennard received his B.A. in religion and philosophy from the University of the South, where he exchanged rent for beekeeping work. After graduation, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica for 27 months where he worked with beekeepers and taught beekeeping in schools. He was named the 2007 Small Business of the Year in Georgia by the U.S. Small Business Administration and was inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame in 2022, among other awards for his honey and other creations.

The Humphreys Entrepreneur-in-Residence program is made possible by a gift from Debra and David Humphreys, C’79, and brings outstanding and innovative business leaders and entrepreneurs to the University to provide experiential perspectives to undergraduates.