Type 2: Episode 030 - Jenna Johnson

Type 2 is a podcast from Looking Sideways in association with Patagonia that explores the intersection between the outdoors, action sports and activism.

And after four years - this is the final ever episode of Type 2! And what a fitting guest I’ve got for this landmark episode - Jenna Johnson, current President of Patagonia Inc.

Jenna is a Ventura lifer, a proud product geek, and somebody who has ascended the ranks from shopfloor to her current status at the very top of the company.

Today, she’s one of the senior leaders at Patagonia, one of a handful tasked with actually delivering that recent ‘Earth is our only shareholder’ announcement. Indeed, it was Jenna, if you recall, who set the tone at the announcement itself with her ‘We’re here to talk about a really big fucking deal’ line.

All of which makes Jenna herself kind of a big deal. Of course, we covered her career, and her path to her current role. But I was really interested in getting her take on some of the themes I began to discern during my time at Patagonia HQ. How the concept of ‘product activism’ has always been a key tenet of the company philosophy. How all the ‘it’s a tax dodge’ criticisms levelled at the company last year are nothing new. And whether ‘the announcement’ signals a shift into a more overt form of campaigning leadership as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary.

It’s a good one, this. Massive thanks to Jenna, Corey, Corley, Alex, Louise, Ryan and Jelle for all the help with this episode. And to my Patagonia Europe family for all the help and encouragement during this last four years of Type 2 episodes.