Cotopaxi CEO and Founder, Davis Smith, will transition to chairman of the board and transition his role to Damien Huang on July 1, 2023, respectively.
Davis, a 2016 SGB 40 Under 40 honoree, created Cotopaxi a decade ago. Over the last year, Davis recruited Huang, the former CEO of Eddie Bauer, Grace Zuncic, the former chief people officer of Chobani, and Brad Hiranaga, the former chief brand officer of General Mills. The executive leadership team, including Stephan Jacob, COO and co-founder, will remain under Huang’s leadership in their current roles.
“We have a team of leaders who believe deeply in our mission to do good in the world, which gives me a lot of confidence in this transition,” explains Davis. “I am excited for this next phase in my career as the lifelong steward of Cotopaxi’s brand, purpose and mission while also creating the right conditions for me to pursue something of great importance in my personal life.”
Huang is currently the president of Cotopaxi. He joined the company in May 2022 from Eddie Bauer. He has also held positions at Patagonia as VP of design and merchandising and at The North Face, where he spent a decade in various product roles.
