Patagonia Inc. named Joy Howard  as vice president of marketing, effective Sept. 23, 2013. In her most-recent role, Howard will be a member of Patagonia's senior management team.

She joins Patagonia from Nike, where she served as vice president of marketing for Converse All Star. Prior to Converse, Howard was based in Zurich, Switzerland, as global marketing director for The Coca-Cola Company’s joint venture with Nestlé. She began her career in marketing at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company.

In her new role, Howard will lead the development and execution of global marketing across all sales channels and communication platforms for Patagonia, as well as for the wider portfolio of Patagonia initiatives in food and media, and new brand extensions.

“We are thrilled to have Joy join the Patagonia family,” said Casey Sheahan, Patagonia's CEO. “Joy brings a strong connection to creative culture along with a deep commitment to sustainability and to using the power of brands to drive positive change in the world. I'm certain that these qualities combined with her blue-chip marketing background will help us continue to responsibly grow the Patagonia business.”


A Georgia native, Howard has lived and worked across Europe, Asia and Africa and brings extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Prior to her career in marketing, Joy was a recording artist with Seely, the first American band signed to the '90s Britpop powerhouse label Too Pure. After hearing Ray Anderson speak and – at his suggestion – reading Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce, she was inspired to pursue her MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work at Chapel Hill was published by the World Resources Institute and featured in The Wall Street Journal.


“Our vision has always been to nurture start-ups and new ventures not only with financial capital, but also by sharing the kind of expertise that Joy will bring,” said Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia Works, the holding company Patagonia founded earlier this year to invest in socially responsible businesses outside the outdoor recreation indsutry.