The climb from Charlotte to Patagonia

Perhaps it all started with surfing.

Growing up in Florida, Ryan Gellert ’94 was inspired by the passion he saw so many around him exhibit for the sport. It wasn’t just a hobby; it was a lifestyle. He was determined to find something that filled him up like a surfboard did for so many of his friends. Mixing his childhood near the beach with his love for the mountains, snowboarding seemed like the perfect fit, and in fact, he spent a year post-college snowboarding out west.

But it was when he got in a harness to climb a mountain for the first time that he knew he had found “it.” Since that moment, Gellert has chased his love of the mountains – making their exploration possible for fellow outdoor enthusiasts and dedicating himself to protecting them and all other aspects of the environment for everyone.

His journey from a finance major at UNC Charlotte to the position of CEO of Patagonia, the American outdoor clothing company committed to environmental preservation, has taken him to many states and across multiple continents. He began his career with Black Diamond Equipment, serving in a variety of roles including director of Black Diamond Asia, vice president of supply chain management and brand president. In 2014, he joined Patagonia to oversee its operations in Europe and the Middle East and was named CEO in 2020.

Through it all, he has been driven by his pursuit of knowledge and his desire to leave the world better – and healthier – than he found it. Here, he shares lessons about life and leadership.

You stepped into the role of CEO for an international company as the world wrestled with COVID-19. What did you learn in this process as a leader that you hope to take with you going forward?
My roles at Patagonia allowed me to really see the depths of COVID from one continent to another. As company leaders, we really had to ground ourselves in the fact that we are doing something no one alive has ever done. There have been global and national crises before – the Spanish flu in 1918, the stock market crash in 1929, the social unrest of the 1960s – but no one had ever seen anything like this. The clear reality is it was a crisis that was unparalleled in its comprehensiveness and its dynamism. But that also means that it was, and is, ripe with valuable lessons for other situations.

For me, I now find myself asking, “How can we take what we learned from COVID and better understand what it takes for all of us to be resilient in economic or, most likely, an environmental crisis?” And as business leaders, my team and I are asking, “How do we do business differently?” I think COVID has forced everyone to take a more human-centric approach to all we do.

You’ve been clear that you think businesses have a responsibility to help combat climate change. What drives that belief?
Since I have worked at Patagonia, and in most of my career, I have been in rooms with business leaders from across all industries. Our environmental problem is, quite frankly, one of our own creation. The world is full of smart people. We have found, and are continuing to innovate, solutions for food and health problems, for example. We have the collective ability to find a cure for our environmental issues; we just don’t seem to have the collective will. At least not yet. I do believe people will be spurred to action when they have exhausted all other options.

How do you believe things can be fixed?
There are three levers for fixing the environment: governmental, individual and business. The government is responsible for mobilizing resources and people and creating policy that supports change. As individuals, we have a responsibility to make good choices in our own lives that lead to a healthier planet, and we also have a civic responsibility to vote for lawmakers who uphold our values. And in the business sector, we have a responsibility to act; to take responsibility for our actions that have contributed to our environmental crisis and make different decisions going forward. If not, we – and future generations even more so – will have to accept less out of life. It will be hotter; natural disasters will happen more often; resources will be more scarce; and every aspect of our lives will be harder.

You were a finance major as an undergraduate, but you have talked openly about how you weren’t sure at that age what you wanted to do. What advice would you give to students who know they want an education but may still be uncertain about their career aspirations?
The notion you have to have your life figured out between the ages of 18 and 22 is flawed. You know, growing up, we didn’t discuss college or future plans around our dinner table. I knew I wanted to go to college and continue my education, but I wasn’t sure about what I wanted after that. I found myself envious of people who were certain of what they wanted to do – to be a dentist or a doctor or an engineer. However, I ascribe to a simple but effective framework inspired by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a well-known conservation strategist. Ask yourself three questions: What is most needed? What are you good at doing? What brings you joy? If you can find something that crosses all three, you’ll find your passion.

It is okay to wrestle thoughtfully with those questions – at any age. Just be confident in your choices. When I took a year off after college to go snowboarding, people raised their eyebrows. But I took that time to think thoughtfully and deeply about what I wanted and to figure it out. It led me to my next step, which led to me to the next, until I ultimately got here.

What inspires you and keeps you motivated in your work – as the head of Patagonia and as an advocate for the planet?
I deeply believe in our values, our people and our brand. We are a for-profit business, but we don’t exist just to sell goods to our consumers. We exist to do good – and to help save the planet we all share. We are called to serve something higher than ourselves. And to be better, we have to think differently. If we see a problem, we don’t just name it and move on, we take action to correct it. I am proud of the work we do and the people I get to do it with. They are our secret sauce for success. Personally, my kids motivate me – I am mindful of what they and their kids will inherit on this planet if we don’t make different choices.

What is a funny or memorable moment from your time at Charlotte?
I came from a small town in Florida, and I went to community college for a year before transferring to Charlotte. I was looking forward to everything a bigger city and university had to offer. I was especially looking forward to exploring my interests by taking comparative religion. Now, this was in 1991, and you had to stand in line to register for classes. There were hundreds of people there, but I saw what I thought was “world religions” and jumped in line. But on the first day of classes, my excitement turned to confusion when the professor came in and started talking about world regions. I had somehow gotten myself into a class that covered geography – not religion. I have absolutely no idea how I managed to mix up those two things, but I stuck with it and actually enjoyed the class. As it turns out, my career has taken me all over the world, so it was a helpful mistake.

If you had to summarize your guiding principles for a successful, fulfilling life in three sentences or less, what would they be?
To acquire knowledge, add things every day. To acquire wisdom, subtract things every day.

Photo by Liz Seabrook