By Christy Jackson

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, Gellert shares insights about leadership informed by a global pandemic and what drives his passion in all he does.

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 a business leader, 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 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. 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.

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.

Christy Jackson is senior director of strategic communications for University Communications.

By Christy Jackson

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, Gellert shares insights about leadership informed by a global pandemic and what drives his passion in all he does.

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 a business leader, 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 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. 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.

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.

Christy Jackson is senior director of strategic communications for University Communications.