Hanold Associates Heading CHRO Search for REI

February 23, 2016 – Once again, executive search firm Hanold Associates has been retained to search for an organization’s chief human resources officer (CHRO), this time by Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). Founder and ex-Russell Reynolds Associates recruiter Jason Hanold will lead the search.

Reporting to the company’s chief executive officer, Jerry Stritzke, the incoming CHRO will be a member of REI’s executive leadership team, responsible for people strategy and vision while driving employee engagement across the organization.

REI began in 1938 as a group of 23 mountain climbing buddies and is now the nation’s largest consumer cooperative. It sells outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods and designs its own line of award winning brand gear and clothing. The company has approximately 12,000 employees with revenues in excess of $2.2 billion, operating across 140 stores in 33 states, with nearly six million members.

Headquartered in Chicago, Hanold Associates is a boutique search firm specializing in HR officer assignments and serving a wide-ranging list of clients, including Nike, Amazon, McKinsey & Co., eBay, Fossil, Carnival Corporation, Outward Bound and Vail Resorts. The firm has been recognized as one of America’s fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine, posting a 253 percent growth rate over the past three years.

The firm recently recruited top CHRO’s for outdoor apparel company Patagonia, CPI Card Group, Friedman Operating Group, Video Equipment Rental, NYC Outward Bound Schools, and Riddell. It also recently launched a CHRO search for Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) and was brought in to handle the CHRO search for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media