When Utah CEOs are 'called to serve': Long-term succession planning allows for smooth executive transitions when CEOs leave their posts to serve religious missions.

• Author: Ciaramella, Elainna

IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT DAVIS SMITH, you probably know he's mission-driven. In July, that quality will be expressed quite literally when Smith steps down as CEO of Cotopaxi. For the following three years, he and his wife, Asialene, will serve as mission leaders for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to 300 young missionaries in Recife, Brazil.

Was I surprised to read Smith's Linkedln announcement that he will be serving an unpaid ministry? Not in the least. I immediately recalled details from the first time I interviewed Smith in 2018 for an article about angel investing, during which he took a detour and opened up about the eight years he spent in the Caribbean as a child.

Smith told stories of growing up in Latin America and crossing the Amazon River on his dad's handmade raft. He spoke of being one of eight kids in a middle-class family, spearfishing and growing up loving adventure and the outdoors. Most importantly, he brought up how, as a child overseas, he witnessed a lot of poverty. This helped him develop a deep empathy for others and the core of Cotopaxi's mission.

In a Forbes interview, Smith vividly recalled seeing children his age standing on the side of the road in the Caribbean, malnourished and begging for food. "I've never forgotten that image," Smith said. "This was poverty at the most desperate level. Most people in America don't even know what this looks like."

As I read through the comments of Smith's recent Linkedln post, one thing that stood out to me was the flood of support, even from current Cotopaxi employees. Where was the anxiety typical of a major executive transition from the frontline staff? Was it all going to fall apart? In the case of Cotopaxi, no one seemed worried--Smith least of all.

"Fortunately, before I knew I would have a mission call, I started taking actions to get an incredible leadership team in place," Smith says. "In hindsight, it feels inspired, but I had the team when we were asked to serve ... I knew I could step away from the business, and I had total and complete trust in them."

Damien Huang, the former CEO of Eddie Bauer and head of product at Patagonia, will step into the role of CEO as Smith dedicates the next three years to his faith.

Utah has a history of CEOs stepping down to serve unpaid assignments on religious missions, from Utah-based Stampin' Up! CEO and co-founder Shelli Gardner to Clark Whitworth of The Larry H. Miller Company, David Stirling of doTERRA and...