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Doug Tompkins, co- founder of The North Face, dies in accident
Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of The North Face and an ardent conservationist and outdoorsman, died following a kayaking accident in his adopted country of Chile. Tomkins, 72, was the co-founder of two clothing companies that would grow into multi-billion dollar enterprises. In addition to North Face, he was a co-founder, along with his wife at the time, of Esprit. “He flew airplanes, he climbed to the top of mountains all over the world,” his daughter Summer Tompkins Walker told the New York Times.
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North Face founder Doug Tompkins dies
Doug Tompkins, the founder of the North Face and Esprit apparel companies, died Tuesday in a kayaking accident in Chile. He was 72.
Tompkins was boating with others on a lake in Chile when his kayak capsized. Tompkins was rescued but spent a lengthy amount of time in the freezing water. He died of hypothermia in a hospital in Coyhaique.
Tompkins founded The North Face in 1964 as an outdoor outfitter and in 1968 he co-founded Esprit clothing, which would grow to do a billion dollars in sales.
