Patagonia said on its website, “After twelve years with the company, Rose Marcario is stepping down from her role as Patagonia’s President and Chief Executive Officer effective June 12, 2020. She was instrumental in leading the company through the most prosperous time in its 47-year history, and she has been recognized by global leaders for her success in advocating and advancing climate and environmental policies.”
According to Chouinard, he and Marcario had been planning her departure and handing over the baton to the next generation for a while, targeting the end of the year. “When this pandemic hit, and the focus quickly turned to reimagine the company for the future, Rose felt the team that would carry our work forward should lead this transformation,” said Chouinard according to Fast Company.
Since joining Patagonia as CFO in 2008, Marcario has been instrumental in streamlining the company’s supply chains and production and eliminating waste and unnecessary packaging. She also helped develop new technologies such as recycled down and Yulex natural rubber wetsuits and increased the company’s commitment to the environment. She also started Patagonia’s food business, venture fund and a digital hub for environmental activists.
Under her leadership, Patagonia also gave away more grants to grassroots activism than any time in its history. Patagonia in recent years significantly amped up its activism and advocated for environmental issues ranging from climate change to protecting public lands. In recent years, Patagonia and its most outspoken executives became among the most vocal critics of the Trump Administration, even suing the president over a spat about public lands in Utah.
“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,” commented Chouinard in the statement.
Before joining Patagonia in 2008 as CFO, Marcario worked in the private equity sector for 15 years.
Photo courtesy Patagonia
