Doug Freeman still remembers the unease he felt as he was getting ready to graduate with a B. A. in English in 1984. Other students were crossing campus in suits, clearly on their way to interviews, and he didn’t have anything lined up. He took a job at a then-small company called Patagonia, where he worked his way up from answering phones to serving eight years as Chief Operations Officer.
In a recent conversation with Arts & Humanities Dean Sara Guyer as part of HUM20 “Humanities in Action: Alumni Career Conversations,” Freeman explained how his English degree conferred the skills he needed to thrive professionally.
“Committing what you know to writing and disseminating that as widely as possible is really the language of business,” he said. “Doing that clearly and in a very persuasive way? It's what you [students] are doing week in, week out.”
While answering phones for Patagonia, Freeman had to write reports on the issues that customers were encountering with Patagonia products. His writing skills — honed in English classrooms — made his reports stand out and he was offered a role on the production team to help resolve the problems that he had identified.
“Your English degree helps sharpen your assessment of complex situations. You're picking up patterns, you're thinking strategically. You're able to deal with a lot of complexity.”
His ability to synthesize information and communicate effectively was all the more important as he moved into management roles, first at Patagonia and then at Polo Ralph Lauren, The North Face, and Sport Obermeyer. He later rejoined Patagonia, and by the time he retired in 2021 he had spent 25 years with the company.
Patagonia’s commitment to sustainability was a rarity in the corporate world in the 80s and 90s. In Freeman’s early days with the company, founder Yvon Chouinard would take employees to California’s Central Valley to view land damaged by pesticide use. Even though Chouinard’s decision to use organic cotton initially impacted production costs and sales, his commitment lay at the core of the company’s values. From reclaimed down to recycled plastics, Freeman and Patagonia leaders brought a lighter footprint to the product and supply chain, aiming for the most sustainable quality products and building Patagonia’s reputation along the way.
For Arts & Humanities majors looking to launch their careers, Freeman offered pragmatic, empathetic advice. He urged them to be patient with themselves and to view career success in terms of a long trajectory.
He also encouraged students to seek jobs aligned with their values. Skills are teachable, he explained, but passion isn’t. “Continuing to keep the fight, continuing to stay motivated, continuing to double down on the values you have for sustainability, for environmentalism, for treating people fairly and safely and humanely. Staying true to the values that I've had for 40 years is what keeps me going.”