Patagonia Hopes to Teach Owners-to-Be a Lesson

Someday, Yvon Chouinard, owner-founder of Ventura-based Patagonia Inc., hopes to turn over ownership of the outdoor clothing manufacturer to his employees. But “open-book management” comes first.

In a recent issue of an in-house publication, Chouinard said he hopes to teach employees “how to understand the numbers on a balance sheet, a (profit and loss) statement, a cash flow chart.”

He isn’t sure how or when the ownership transition will take place, he wrote. “But we do know this is the right direction, especially if we want to gain the full benefit of the energy and creativity of 520 employees working in concert.”