Kristine McDivitt Tompkins

“WE GREW UP IN U.S. NATIONAL PARKS –
CLIMBING, HIKING, YOU NAME IT.”

It’s difficult to describe someone like Kristine Tompkins. A pioneer in the outdoor industry during her time as CEO of Patagonia and one of the preeminent conservationists of the last 30 years, her story is one of which most could only dream.

Born on a ranch in Southern California in 1950, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins considered the outdoors a precious gift from an early age.

At the age of 15, she met Yvon Chouinard, who offered her a summer job. After college, she returned to work for him full-time and helped him launch Patagonia, Inc. During her 20 years as CEO, Kristine transformed the company into a titan of the outdoor industry and also led the growing sustainable business movement.

In the early 1990s, Kristine retired from Patagonia and moved to South America to live with Doug Tompkins, a long-time friend and a companion of Chouinard. The two soon married and over the next 25 years would become a formidable force in the global conservation movement. Kristine continues to preserve land in Chile and Argentina after the untimely death of her husband and conservation partner, Doug, in 2015.

Photo: source Tompkins Foundation