Members of REI returned incumbents Michael Smith and Doug Walker, and elected first-time board member Cheryl Scott, to its board of directors for three-year terms. The election results were announced at the co-op's annual membership meeting March 28.
Smith, who had served three years as an appointed director before being nominated for an elected term, is president and CEO of Classmates.com, former president of Nordstrom.com, and former president and CEO of Lands' End. Walker, who has served on the board since 1996, is founder and former CEO of Seattle-based WRQ, an international software company.
Scott, who was elected to her first REI board term, retired at the end of 2004 as president and CEO of Group Health Cooperative, which she led since 1997. Currently, she serves as president emerita of the Seattle-based healthcare cooperative.
The REI board also selected its officers for 2005. Walker was elected as chairman, and Seattle University's Vice President of Administration and University Counsel Catherine Walker was selected vice chairman.
In other board activity, incumbent director Angel Rodriguez, whose term expired in 2005, was appointed to complete the two years remaining on the term of Fran Conley, who resigned from the board late last year. Rodriguez, who is semi-retired, is former CEO of Bikebiz publishing and consulting company, founder of R&E Cycles and co-founder of the Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic.
Earlier this month, REI announced a $44 million member refund to its active members based on eligible purchases, as well as an increase to its financial support of environmental stewardship efforts for the year to $2.5 million, based on 2004 sales of $887 million. In January, REI was named for the eighth consecutive year as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE magazine.
