REI Co-op on Wednesday announced hiring Amazon veterans Cameron Janes as the new senior vice president, commercial director.
Janes previously spent more than 14 years at Amazon, most recently as a working vice president on the company’s physical retail stores. He departed last month.
Janes, a competitive cyclist and son of a former ranger, will take on the newly created executive role at REI, a retail giant in the outdoor industry headquartered in Seattle. He started on January 3.
“I see this as an incredible opportunity but also a huge responsibility to help grow and develop an organization focused on making the outdoors accessible to everyone,” said Janes.
In a LinkedIn post announcing his departure from AmazonJanes said his next step would be “to see if I can take everything I’ve learned at Amazon and apply it effectively in a different context and culture”.
Janes has worked in the company’s traditional business in various capacities since 2015, when Amazon opened its first physical bookstore in Seattle University Village. Since then, the company has launched a range of physical retail concepts, including Amazon Go, Amazon 4-star, and Amazon Fresh stores.
REI report revenue of $2.7 billion in 2020, down from $3.1 billion in 2019. The company has more than 20 million members and 174 locations nationwide. Its digital platforms include REI.com, REI Outlet and the REI shopping app.
REI also today announced the promotion of Kelley Hall to executive vice president, chief financial officer, and the promotion of Vivienne Long to senior vice president, chief marketing officer.
