{"id":52232,"date":"2019-05-06T16:52:03","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T23:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=52232"},"modified":"2025-11-20T21:31:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T05:31:58","slug":"rei-member-meeting-2019-eric-artz-named-new-co-op-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/rei-member-meeting-2019-eric-artz-named-new-co-op-ceo","title":{"rendered":"REI Member Meeting 2019: Eric Artz Named New Co-op CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

The co-op has a new president and CEO. REI\u00a0Board Chairman\u00a0Steve Hooper shared the news Monday evening at the co-op\u2019s annual member meeting that Eric Artz will be the eighth CEO in the co-op\u2019s 81-year history, effective immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a thorough national search, it was clear to us that the best person for the job was already leading the co-op,\u201d Hooper said in a letter to employees<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cTo his core, Eric believes in the purpose and impact of the co-op. Anyone who knows him well will tell you that above all, he cares deeply about the power of the outdoors to bring people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hooper, REI leaders and fellow board members were in Washington, D.C. to meet with members at the co-op\u2019s flagship store in the district\u2019s NoMa neighborhood on Monday. In addition to the CEO announcement, leaders shared the impact the co-op continues to have, the inspiration for the growth ahead and why fighting for life outdoors is more important than ever.<\/p>\n

Standing beneath the words \u201cOutside for all,\u201d Artz said, \u201cIt is such a great honor to serve this organization. REI is so much bigger than a single person. You need to know that I am here to serve you. What you all do, each day, as employees and members of REI, makes a difference in people\u2019s lives. My job is to help you reach more people. The fight for life outdoors starts right here at REI.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual member meeting, held in D.C. for the first time in co-op history, capped off a week in the nation\u2019s capital where Artz met with several local nonprofit partners and joined REI\u2019s outdoor industry partners in meetings with more than 100 federal agency and congressional leaders.<\/p>\n

The co-op\u2019s impact in 2018<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In 2018, the co-op worked to get more people outside, operate more sustainably, and protect and create access to the outdoors. REI invested $8.4 million in 431 nonprofit partners and stewarded more than 5,000 outdoor places across the country. In particular, the co-op is helping transform urban and suburban areas for outdoor recreation, investing more than half a million dollars in rewilding projects in five U.S. cities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

REI established sustainability standards<\/a> for all brands and products sold at the co-op. With the goal of making it easy for people to make more sustainable choices, customers can also now search REI.com for products based on sustainability traits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The co-op gave $77 million to employees through profit sharing and retirement, and it returned $204 million to members through dividends and credit card rewards. And a strong business made all of that possible: The co-op reported a record $2.78 billion last year, up 6 percent over 2017.<\/p>\n

The REI community is also growing. More than 1 million new members<\/a> joined the co-op in 2018, bringing the total membership to more than 18 million people who love the outdoors.<\/p>\n

2019: A year of continued growth <\/strong><\/h4>\n

As REI enters its 81st year, the co-op will do more to help more people get outside and enable cooperative change.<\/p>\n

The co-op believes that time outdoors has the power to unite people and can help the outdoor community work together on important issues like climate change and our environmental impact<\/a>, stewarding public lands<\/a>, ensuring kids can get outside, and taking care of parks and trails close to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first step is to help people build a relationship with the natural world. If you love life outdoors, you are more likely to care for our planet,\u201d Artz said.<\/p>\n

Building on its Force of Nature<\/em><\/a> effort, Wilma Wallace, REI vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, shared that the co-op will continue to help lead an industry-wide effort to ensure that all people who have a passion for the outdoors feel welcome and represented.<\/a><\/p>\n

REI Senior Vice President of Retail Tim Spangler told members the co-op is working to scale sustainability efforts in the outdoor industry, and helping more people get outside by significantly expanding its gear rental program and investing in used gear and gear trade-in options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The co-op is also expanding its already broad offerings of outdoor experiences<\/a>\u2014from urban excursions to adventures on the other side of the world, according to REI Chief Customer Officer Ben Steele. And with Co-op Journal and Expert Advice<\/a>, Steele says REI has the country\u2019s largest library of how-to articles and videos to help people experience the outdoors.<\/p>\n

In the 3,000 largest U.S. cities, two-thirds of people lack easy access to the outdoors, and one in three Americans do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of their home, according to the Trust for Public Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter if you live in a city or have access to wilderness, we want to help more people discover how time outside makes life better. To prove the outdoors isn\u2019t a nice-to-have; it\u2019s a must-have,\u201d said Alex Thompson, vice president of Brand Stewardship and Impact for REI.<\/p>\n

Thompson said REI is investing in research to examine how time outside impacts our well-being<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do more, together. And we must because the fight for life outdoors is more important than ever,\u201d Artz said.<\/p>\n

During the member meeting, Wallace also shared the results of the co-op\u2019s 2019 board election, as voted on by REI members. All four of the board nominees have been seated.<\/p>\n