Q&A with Bill Supple
Bill Supple discusses building Mammut in North America, and the importance of valuing people and experiences.
What are your areas of expertise?
Sector-wise I’ve been working in the outdoor equipment (hike, climb, ski) industry my whole professional career – roughly 40 years. I was fortunate to land in leadership positions early on and today consider Leadership, Leadership Development, Strategy, Strategy to Execution, Organizational Development, and Team Building to be areas of strength.
What led you to Brimstone?
Bob Gordon was my connection to Brimstone. I’ve known Bob for many years from the climbing scene and we served on a board together back in the mid-’90s. Bob introduced me to Dave Barash when Dave was putting together the Values Ventures initiative and then Dave introduced me to Michael Hornsby and Bob Weiler.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Professionally I’d say there are two, and they are more team accomplishments than individual ones. In the earl, through mid-’90s, I helped start up and establish a national climber’s nonprofit advocacy organization called The Access Fund, which today is thriving and doing exceptional work. And my years building Mammut in North America with my great team. We built a very respected outdoor brand in North America where Mammut only had a small presence before our work starting in 2001.
As I reflect on the years, I’ve increasingly come to realize that it’s the people we work with and the experiences we have with them that I value the most. Getting to work with great people, building something together with shared work, and sacrifice more than ever rise to the top for me in the work and adventures still to come.
How do you recharge?
I’ve been actively involved in climbing, hiking, and trail running for many years and still consider those activities as my major points of recharging. Some of my best problem-solving and creative moments have come on trail runs.
