Today, The B Team announced the addition of Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia, to its group of global business and civil society leaders.
Gellert has been at the helm of the California-based outdoor apparel company since 2020. He oversaw the transfer of the company’s ownership to two entities in September 2022: The Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. The structure legally enshrines the company’s values and purpose and allows for every dollar that’s not reinvested back into the company to be distributed as an annual dividend to help protect nature.
The B Team, co-founded by Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz in 2013, came together united in the belief that business has both the capacity and the responsibility to become a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit. Today, while the world grapples with simultaneous challenges — from climate and nature crises to active conflicts and human rights catastrophes — the need for bold leadership, particularly from business leaders, is irrefutable.
“I am thrilled to welcome Ryan Gellert to The B Team,” said B Team CEO Halla Tómasdóttir. “Ryan exemplifies courageous leadership. His unwavering yet humble commitment to the well-being of people and nature sets the gold standard for sustainable business practices. We look forward to collaborating with Ryan to catalyze a world where we can all love where we live and work.”
Gellert joins The B Team alongside leaders including Jesper Brodin (Inkga Group), Ester Baiget (Novonesis), Oliver Bäte (Allianz), Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Emmanuel Faber (ISSB), André Hoffmann (Roche), Ilham Kadri (Syensqo), Andrew Liveris, Juan Carlos Mora (Bancolombia), Jacqueline Novogratz (Acumen), Paul Polman, Mary Robinson (The Elders) and Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani).
“I’m joining The B Team because they’re redefining business culture and developing better leaders worldwide,” Gellert said. “I look forward to working on this collective effort with leaders I respect and pushing the business community to scale solutions to the environmental crisis and the other pressing challenges of our time.”
Contact
For more information, please contact Nadine Dobbs at nd@bteam.org.
About The B Team
The B Team is a global collective of business and civil society leaders working to create new norms of corporate leadership today, for a better tomorrow. Together, these leaders strive to hold themselves and their peers accountable for measuring business success not only by financial performance but also for the benefit of future generations. Leaders include: Jesper Brodin (Chair), Ester Baiget (Vice-Chair) Ajay Banga, Oliver Bäte, Marc Benioff, Richard Branson, Sharan Burrow, Kathy Calvin, Emmanuel Faber, Christiana Figueres, Ryan Gellert, Mats Granryd, André Hoffmann, Arianna Huffington, Van Jones, Sir Mo Ibrahim, Ilham Kadri, Joseph D. Kenner, Isabelle Kocher, Guilherme Leal, Andrew Liveris, Hiro Mizuno, Juan Carlos Mora, Jacqueline Novogratz, Paul Polman, Jean Oelwang, Mary Robinson, Hamdi Ulukaya, Zhang Yue, Professor Muhammad Yunus and Jochen Zeitz.
About Patagonia
We’re in business to save our home planet. Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California. As a certified B Corporation and a founding member of 1% for the Planet, the company is recognized internationally for its product quality and environmental activism, as well as its contributions of more than $230 million to environmental organizations. Its unique ownership structure reflects that Earth is its only shareholder: Profits not reinvested back into the business are paid as dividends to protect the planet.
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