After nearly 40 years, designer Eileen Fisher is handing over the reins to Patagonia’s chief product officer, Lisa Williams.

The executive will start in early September and bring experience scaling an ethical apparel brand, the company said. Fisher will continue to play a central role in product design and brand development and will remain as the company’s board chair.

The appointment ends a near-year-long search for a new chief executive at the company, which Fisher founded in 1984. Williams will be charged with developing the brand’s strategy and operations following the pandemic. The brand generated revenue of $241 million in 2021, down from $393 million pre-pandemic in 2019, though profits have increased over that period, the company said.

While Fisher is the majority shareholder, the rest of the business has been employee-owned since 2006.

In the US, the company is not only known as a sustainability pioneer, but also for its unwavering minimalist style — a subtle, untrendy look not readily available elsewhere in the mass market. In culture, Eileen Fisher has been referenced everywhere from the HBO series Girls to online memes.

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