Doing Capitalism Better: Cotopaxi CFO Gary Bowen

Most CFOs don’t build?models where 1% of their company’s net sales (not profits) are given away instantly “right from the top” to help alleviate poverty. But then Cotopaxi is not like most companies. In this episode, Cotopaxi CFO, Gary Bowen, explains the pivotal role played by finance and FP&A in “doing capitalism better” while also seeking to become a billion-dollar brand - alongside other outdoor names such as Patagonia, North Face, and Columbia. This includes an ambitious new strategy explained by Bowen to move beyond digital sales and into retail–and FP&A’s central role in making this happen.

In this episode, Gary Bown CFO of Cotopaxi reveals:

• Starting as operations in customer service and lessons for finance
• How I began as a CFO
• When good finance talent leaves
• Doing fractional CFO services and when businesses need to bring in a CFO
• Being a "Let’s Go" CFO (vs Department of No)
• 1% of Net Sales (not profits) given away, and working that into the model
• Cotopaxi digital retail metrics explained vs retail metrics
• Moving to opening up retail stores and a four-wall profitability model
• How to balance investors with giving back principles
• Getting Cotopaxi to a billion-dollar company
• Flipping the script from private label to branding at Ogio (and learning the power of branding)
• Flying airplanes, Iron Man competition, and George Washington

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