The Conservation Alliance welcomes Arne Arens, Global Brand President of The North Face, to our board of directors. Arens fills the seat vacated by the untimely passing of Ann Krcik, who represented The North Face on the board for three years.
The North Face co-founded The Conservation Alliance in 1989 along with Patagonia, REI, and Kelty. Each founding member has a permanent seat on the board, and it is up to that company to determine who fills that seat.
“Having Arne serve on our board says a lot about The North Face’s commitment to conservation,” said John Sterling, Conservation Alliance Executive Director. “We are excited to connect Arne to our efforts to protect North America’s wild places.”
Arens has been with The North Face for seven years. Prior to assuming the brand president position in 2017, he held roles as General Manager of The North Face Americas and the General Manager for The North Face in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).
“Joining the Conservation Alliance board is personally and professionally meaningful; their work supports our brand mission – to enable exploration – and I’ll have the opportunity to further the legacy of one of our longtime leaders, Ann Krcik,” said Arens. “Since The North Face co-founded the Conservation Alliance nearly 30 years ago, it has worked tirelessly on behalf of our industry to protect natural places. That work is more important now than ever and I’m motivated by the momentum the team has built.”
Arens joins The Conservation Alliance board at a crucial time, as the organization works to direct outdoor industry funding and advocacy to efforts to protect and defend our wild places. The North Face and other member companies have worked closely with The Conservation Alliance over the past 18 months to demonstrate business support for our public lands.
The Conservation Alliance membership will vote in May to fill the board seat to be vacated by Scott Whipps of Toad & Co., who reaches his term limits in July.
“We are fortunate to have many quality people interested in serving on The Conservation Alliance board,” said Sterling. “We miss Ann, add know Arne will add a lot to our board composition.”
