In a decision that surprised many, Outdoor Industry Association President and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer announced his resignation Tuesday, saying that after nearly 15 years of building up the trade association’s financial and political capital it is time to move on.
Hugelmeyer will leave OIA Oct. 3 and not attend the organization’s Rendezvous executive conference in Asheville next week. OIA board plans to appoint an interim director, ideally by November, to oversee OIA’s staff of about 25 until it can hire a new president.
I need to make space
Asked why he did not wait until an interim director could be appointed, Hugelmeyer told The B.O.S.S. Report “I need to make space for someone else to come in.”
In an email sent to colleagues after the announcement, Hugelmeyer explained “In every organization, I believe there is an appropriate lifespan for the tenure of any CEO. Therefore, it is time for me to move on and do what I do best, build and grow another organization into an enterprise that matters. With a superior board and a strong and talented team in place, I leave OIA is in very capable hands and in a condition that few dreamed possible when it was founded. It has been the adventure of a lifetime and I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished together.”
While Hugelmeyer has not determined his next career move, he said he is interested in finding an opportunity that would allow him to earn equity by building a company. In the meantime, he will take some down time with his family, prepare for a speaking engagement he has in mid-November at the IUCN World Park Congress in Sydney, Australia, continue to serve on the board of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and mend a bicep he popped during a portage so he can get in some fly fishing.
OIA Chair Jennifer Mull said Hugelmeyer first raised the possibility of his resignation about a year ago as he and OIA’s executive board undertook a major strategic review to sharpen its focus on what it can do most effectively to help members keep pace with rapid change.
“It’s been coming,” Mull said of Hugelmeyer’s desire to move on. “Whenever you do refocusing, it causes everyone to stop and think about where youre headed and any time youve been in an organization almost 15 years, you do think about the time when there will be a transition.”
Mull said the OIA board’s executive committee is already in conversations with candidates who could step into the interim role, which she hopes to fill by November. On Tuesday she was recruiting fellow OIA board members to serve on a search committee that will hire an executive search firm and oversee the selection process for a permanent CEO.
Both the interim and permanent executives will be tasked with delivering against the board’s strategic plan, which has been updated with insights from a survey that identified the supply chain, retail environment and finance as the top three challenges facing OIA members. OIA’s board wants OIA staff to focus on helping members keep up with, and even anticipate how changing consumer behavior is redefining outdoor recreation and how the industry can adapt their business models, supply chains and public policy agenda to adapt.
A capable staff
Christie Hickman, who was hired as vice president of market insights in 2013 and has since brought on two additional researchers, will be directing the consumer insight work, while newly hired vice president of marketing and communication Jennifer Pringle will be responsible for getting it to OIA members and the media. Executive Vice President Lori Herrera, who joined OIA nearly 10 years ago, remains chief operating officer. Chris Fanning just celebrated her sixth anniversary as executive director of The Outdoor Foundation, which has invested nearly $3 million in grant money since 2010 with grassroots projects that have connected more than 200,000 youth to the outdoors.
While Hugelmeyer has emerged as a well known and credible advocate for the industry and conservation on Capitol Hill, he leaves behind a four member government affairs team headed by Senior Director of Government Affairs Alex Boian, who joined OIA in 2004. Furthermore, Hugelmeyer’s departure comes at a relatively good time.
“The election is a month away and Congress is in recess and it’s a Congress that is so slow to take action on anything,” said Mike Van Abel, president and U.S. executive director for the International Mountain Biking Association.
A looming deadline
One of the interim director’s first priorities will be working with Outdoor Retailer (OR) to nail down the time and place for the 2017 edition of OR Winter Market. OIA derived more than half its $7.7 million in revenues last year through its endorsement of the biannual Outdoor Retailer show. In January, 2013, Outdoor Retailer and OIA extended the agreement to hold the show in Salt Lake City two more years through 2016 after the state agreed to pay $2.66 million to erect tents needed to accommodate exhibitors at OR Summer Market.
Show owner Emerald Exposition is hoping to announce the location and date for 2017 OR Winter Market by March, but that could be tough with Hugelmeyer gone. Hugelmeyer has played a key role in securing concession from the State of Utah in recent years through his relationship with Gov. Gary Herbert. This summer, Herbert signed a bill authorizing the state to offer up to $75 million in tax rebates to incentivize development of an 800-1,000-room convention hotel that would go a long way toward improving housing options for OR attendees.
OR Show Director Kenji Haroutunian said last week he did not know the status of the hotel project.
“Frank has been one of the key players with the Governor’s Office,” said Haroutunian.
