Recently retired Patagonia President and CEO Casey Sheahan has signed on as a  senior advisor at Backbone Media, a creative and public relations agency with one of the largest and most impressive client rosters in the industry.


“Casey has been a pioneer and a respected leader in the active lifestyle market for over 30 years,” said Backbone Media managing partner, Nate Simmons. “We’re looking forward to incorporating his intimate knowledge and experience into our strategy discussions with both new and existing clients.”



Sheahan said the new role will allow him to work with both large established brands and small start-ups served by Backbone’s offices in Jackson Hole and Carbondale, CO, where he now lives with his family. Backbone’s client list includes more than 40 brands, including many owned by such industry stalwarts as Black Diamond Inc., Cascade Designs, Confluence Watersports, Eddie Bauer and VF Corp. It also works with non-profits and niche brands such as Oliberté, which sells premium, handcrafted leather shoes and bags manufactured exclusively at a Fair Trade Certified factory in Africa.

“Backbone is a talented and vibrant agency that’s doing a lot of progressive work and I’m happy to be on the team,”
said Sheahan.

Sheahan retired from Patagonia in February after eight years of serving as the company’s president and CEO. During his tenure, Patagonia tripled its profits and experienced significant growth. Prior to Patagonia, Sheahan served as president of Kelty Inc. and is a past president of the Converation Alliance. He has worked as the vice president of marketing at Merrell Footwear, category marketing manager at Nike ACG and the editor/publisher at Powder Magazine.

Sheahan serves as second vice chair on the Outdoor Industry Association board of directors, is active on the speakers circuit and plans to serve on the board of a few “sympatico brands” in the active lifestyle space.