Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 54

2000s

Casey Sheahan

Outdoor Retailer 35th Anniversary

THE BIG FISH
He may hold court as the CEO of Keen and former top dog at
Kelty and Patagonia, but Casey Sheahan only understands
the business because he fully lives the outdoor life.
Written By Doug Schnitzspahn

ollow Caesy Sheahan on LinkedIn and
you will see an impressive resume:
President of Keen, CEO of Patagonia,
President of Kelty, Vice President of
Marketing at Wolverine, Publisher of Powder
magazine, Stanford grad... Follow him on
Facebook and you will see fish. A lot of fish. A
lot of big fish.
It's his connection to what outdoor consumers want, to the raw passion of simply being out
in the wild, that has kept him keyed into both
successful product and a conscious mindset.
He understands outdoor consumers because
he is one of them. He hikes and skis Aspen's
Highlands Bowl. He fly fishes Tierra del Fuego.
He listens to the Grateful Dead.

54 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ 35th Anniversary 2017

"I have been very, very lucky,"
Sheahan says. "But the one thing
that has served me well through
all my time in the outdoor industry is that I feel as if I have a fundamental understanding of the target consumer-how they live and
how they play. I understand what
they think will be compelling, and
what the appropriate aesthetic is
for the time."
During Sheahan's 2005-2014
tenure at Patagonia, the brand
tripled its profits. Sheahan also
oversaw some of Patagonia's campaigns that have resonated most
with its fans. That includes the
2011 expansion of its Common
Threads Initiative, now called
Worn Wear, that compelled customers to repair, reuse, and recycle
used Patagonia garments. In 2012,
the brand debuted its Footprint
Chronicles, which gave consumers the ability to track the supply
chain of Patagonia products.
Rich Hill, president of the
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance
sums up his modus operandi thus: "Sheahan
is successful because he gives a shit about issues that matter."
But after an illustrious career, Sheahan retired
in 2014. The plan was to finally just enjoy the
fishing and the skiing. He took an advisory position at Backbone Media, based in Carbondale,
Colorado, where he lived, and he began to en-

joythe good life, seeking trout and spending
time with his family. Until Keen called.
"It's probably the only brand I could have
seen myself working for," says Sheahan, who
moved from Colorado to Portland with his
wife, something he did not do with Patagonia.
"It has a strong set of values that I align with. It's
a disruptive company. Keen sees a cause and
takes action instead of just talking about it. A
lot of Keen's efforts have really been dedicated to helping humanity hit by global climate
change, by powerful storms and floods. We can
jump in and spend money to help the people
being devastated."
Of course, living in Oregon also means
Sheahan will be able to chase steelhead, his favorite fish. Alongside him will be his dear friend
Mike Moore, vice president of global sales at
fishing brand Simms, who first met Sheahan in
the the late 1980s (thanks to a "Steal Your Face"
patch) and has been casting with and learning
from him ever since-because to understand
how Sheahan works in the office, all you need
to do is watch how he operates on the water.
"He's like he is in any business interaction
when he fishes," says Moore. "He exudes positivity. He believes the grab is coming on every swing. He helps you keep your head in the
game, because he always stays in the game."
Sheahan sees his time on the water as an experience, if not spiritual, at least necessary for
him to find clarity in an industry where connection to the wilds matter. "There's something
about rivers, about water, about floating in a
raft or feeling it around my knees in waders
that sustains me," he says. O.R.

He understands outdoor consumers
because he is one of them. He hikes and skis
Aspen's Highlands Bowl. He fly fishes Tierra
del Fuego. He listens to the Grateful Dead.
photograph by ANDREW KORNYLAK

Outdoor Retailer - July 2017

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