Rose Marcario is the former CEO of outdoor apparel company

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...

. She currently serves on the board of trustees at

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself a ...

Biography

Rose Marcario earned a BS in Business and Finance from the

University of Albany A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

and an MBA at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

. She then spent 15 years in

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a typ ...

. Rose Marcario joined Patagonia in 2008 as CFO. Marcario has been a vocal supporter of on-site

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

, which Patagonia established in 1983. Under her leadership, 100 percent of the company's working mothers have returned to work after giving birth. On June 1, 2017, Marcario opened an on-site child care facility at Patagonia's distribution center in Reno, Nevada. Marcario believes that employer-operated child care facilities are the answer to getting more women on company boards and in CEO positions. On June 10, 2020, Marcario announced she was stepping down as president and chief executive officer of Patagonia, effective June 12, 2020. She was included in the 2021 and 2022 Fast Company Queer 50 lists.

Politics

In February 2016, Marcario and Patagonia founder

Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment. Chouinard is also a surf ...

made a public statement about the company's commitment to

public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land ( Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countri ...

s by choosing to withdraw the company's participation from the annual Outdoor Retailer trade show. The show was hosted in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, and Marcario and Chouinard said they were protesting

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Governor Gary Herbert's attempts to rescind the

Bears Ears National Monument Bears Ears National Monument is a United States national monument located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, established by President Barack Obama by presidential proclamation on December 28, 2016. The monument protects of public land s ...

. Marcario's decision to use the company's participation in Outdoor Retailer as a bargaining tool to change Herbert's stance on public lands spurred a boycott of the trade show. Marcario and Patagonia said the brand would boycott the show, one of Salt Lake City's most profitable annual conventions, unless the state's elected officials backed down on their efforts to rescind Bears Ears. Many other companies said they, too, would boycott the show in solidarity with Patagonia, which caused Outdoor Retailer and the Outdoor Industry Association to seek a new home for the show in a state deemed more friendly to public lands. Patagonia has sought to mobilize its customers over Trump's executive order to reduce some national monuments, particularly Bears Ears National Monument, and has sued the Trump administration over the matter. Marcario closed Patagonia's doors on

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections a ...

in 2016 to raise awareness about the importance of voting. Four days after the inauguration of

President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, she spoke out against the Trump administration in defense of public lands and the fight against

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcario, Rose Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University at Albany, SUNY alumni California State University, Los Angeles alumni American women in business American chief executives of manufacturing companies 21st-century American women