Patagonia CEO exits this week, no successor in the wings so far

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 11, 2020

Eco outdoor brand Patagonia has announced the departure of its president and CEO Rose Marcario after 12 years with the company, six of them at the helm. She steps down as of Friday.

The company hasn’t named a successor after the top exec’s surprise exit but said that its transition will be led by COO Doug Freeman and that “we will be sharing more updates as we build on our accomplishments, values and plan for the future with the intent on saving the home planet”.

Patagonia didn’t give a reason for her fast departure either. But it did praise her to the hilt saying that she was “instrumental in leading the company through the most prosperous time in its 47-year history, and she has been recognised by global leaders for her success in advocating and advancing climate and environmental policies”.

And it’s undeniable that she’s been instrumental in many eco developments in her time at the firm. With founder Yvon Chouinard, she started an organic food company Patagonia Provisions, “helping to lead a movement to change how we grow our food”. Along with the Rodale Institute and personal care brand Dr Bronner’s, she developed the Regenerative Organic Certification, “the highest bar of certification for workers/farmers rights, animal welfare and regenerative soil practices”. Marcario also founded the company’s in-house venture fund and Patagonia Action Works, a digital hub for environmental activists.  

That came along many other developments linked to business ethics, conservation and encouraging voter participation in elections.

Under her leadership, Patagonia also gave away more grants to grassroots activism than any time in its history. 

Within the commercial confines of the business she also worked to streamline production and cut out waste, as well as driving the use of recycled materials.

“Rose has grown our advocacy efforts in ways I could never have imagined. With Rose at the helm, we are leading an overdue revolution in agriculture, challenging this administration’s evil environmental rollbacks, growing a movement to increase voter participation in our elections and raising the bar on building our product in the most responsible manner possible.” said Chouinard.