REI hires Raquel Karls as Senior Vice President of Human Resources

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Nov 6, 2016

Outdoor retailer REI announced on Thursday that it has hired Raquel Karls as Senior Vice President of Human Resources.

 
Karls heads to REI from Outerwall, the company behind Coinstar, Redbox and ecoATM, where she served as Chief Human Resources Officer. While at the company, she led a redesign of all people programs, including performance management, engagement, talent reviews and HRIS systems. Karls also held leadership roles in Human Resources at Starbucks and Expedia and worked in various leadership positions at Pepsi.
 
REI recently announced that it will close its stores on Black Friday for the second year in a row. The retailer introduced its #OptOutside initiative in 2015 to give employees two paid days off to explore the outdoors.

In addition, REI has been recognized as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, and is one of only five companies to do so.