Cotopaxi Welcomes Chobani Veteran Grace Zuncic as Chief People and Impact Officer

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Jul 27, 2022, 08:37 ET

VC-backed Benefit Corporation Expands Executive Team

SALT LAKE CITY, July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Certified B Corporation™ and impact-driven adventure lifestyle brand, Cotopaxi, is proud to welcome Grace Zuncic as their first ever Chief People and Impact Officer. Zuncic brings decades of aligned expertise to the company and will be driving strategic employee-centric practices as well as impact-driven initiatives through her leadership of the People and Impact teams in the next phase of Cotopaxi's growth.

Zuncic joins Cotopaxi as an advisor, beginning this week, and officially starts full-time in early October. She is based out of New York, thanks to Cotopaxi's employee-centered flexible and remote work policies. Zuncic will be working closely with Davis Smith, Founder and CEO; and Damien Huang, President of Cotopaxi; Marissa Magno, Cotopaxi's VP of People & Inclusion; and Annie Agle, Senior Director of Impact & Sustainability, to strategically work towards the brand's goal of giving back and doing good, internally and globally.

"Cotopaxi has created a community of employees, consumers, partners and retailers who are working together to realize something much bigger than themselves," said Zuncic. "I am proud to join a company that makes great sustainable outdoor lifestyle products, but uses those products as a platform to create systemic change in eradicating poverty while inspiring more adventure and community in people's lives. It's an honor to join Cotopaxi at this phase of its tremendous growth, and to support the incredible employees who are building a next-generation consumer brand."

Zuncic comes to Cotopaxi by way of an impressive tenure at wellness and values-driven food brand Chobani where she served in various executive leadership positions. Zuncic intentionally stepped down from her post as Chief People Officer amicably in April of 2022 to devote time to her family and adventure more. This brave move has led her to the high-growth consumer brand, prolific in the outdoors lifestyle industry, Cotopaxi.

"Putting people first and fighting extreme poverty underline everything we do at Cotopaxi, and Grace's thoughtful approach to leadership and deep passion for our mission to improve the human condition will make her a critical asset to our team," said Davis Smith, Founder and CEO of Cotopaxi. "Her background leading people at an employee first, impact driven brand will be integral to both her role combining people and impact, and our growth evolution here at Cotopaxi."

In bringing these two teams together under executive leadership, Cotopaxi is positioned to be a leader in employee-centric workplaces, creating sustainable environments and opportunities for the team to engage, thrive and grow. Zuncic's role will oversee both people and impact, redefining the traditional corporate structure and empowering employees to have an invested role in the brand's defining mission and vision.

Cotopaxi is backed by Bain Capital's Double Impact Fund along with a number of other incredibly impactful and progressive organizations. This work, centered around global poverty alleviation and humanitarian causes, is supported by the Cotopaxi Foundation, through which a portion of every product sold is routed to give back and do lasting good, and was a major component of Zuncic's decision to join the brand.

Media Contact: OutsidePR | Jess Fiaschetti | [email protected] | 415.565.9530

SOURCE Cotopaxi