Chris Hufnagel
President, Merrell
The Basics
Company Name: Merrell
Location: Rockford, MI
Founded: 1981
Full-Time Employees: 178
Products: Footwear, apparel, accessories
Social: Instagram / Facebook
Claim to Fame: Being a leader in creating comfortable, durable hiking shoes and outdoor footwear since the ‘80s. Today, we’ve evolved that heritage and authenticity into a brand known for those same core values across performance and lifestyle footwear, apparel, and accessories.
The Culture
The best thing about working here is:
Inspiring others to get out onto the trail and experience its profound power just as we all do, through our storytelling and products.
When we’re not working, we’re:
Out on the trail experiencing it in our own unique ways.
What we’re reading:
Stories that inspire and educate us. Our book club recently read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight and Educated by Tara Westover, but of course that’s just a small snapshot!
What we’re listening to:
A variety of tunes! We celebrate the different tastes and styles of our employees! But if you had to put a beat to the Merrell brand, some of us would point you to the Roots Revival playlist on Spotify.
If they made a movie about our workplace, it would be called:
“The Trail Continues”
Inclusion in the outdoors matters because:
The trail is for everybody regardless of size, gender, race, or ability. We all need to work together to create a welcoming environment in the outdoors not only because it’s the right thing to do, but it’s imperative in order to continue the protection and conservation of the natural environment that sustains us all. The more people we can inspire and welcome to the outdoors, the more people will learn to enjoy, respect, and work hard to conserve our natural spaces.
Five years down the line, it’s our hope that:
Strides have been made throughout the outdoor industry including the dedication and pledge of many more brands and individuals to understand and value the importance of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our futures depend on it.