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Outdoor apparel giant Patagonia has a new CEO: Rose Marcario, the first woman to lead the company in its 41-year history. The Ventura, Calif.-based outerwear purveyor announced Thursday afternoon that Marcario, former COO and CFO, will take the helm starting February 7, replacing outgoing head Casey Sheahan, a ten-year veteran. Marcario came to Patagonia in 2008 from the corporate finance world, including a gig heading up mergers and acquisitions at LA-based Capital Advisors and a role as CFO at Apple spin-off General Magic.

I don’t like to think of myself as a businessman. I’ve made no secret that I hold a fairly skeptical view of the business world. That said, Patagonia, the company my wife and I founded four decades ago, has grown up to be — by global standards — a medium-size business. And that bestows on our family a serious responsibility. The last line of Patagonia’s mission statement is “… use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” We’ve always taken that seriously.

In 2006, after working 25 years in private equity and for public companies, Rose Marcario had a crisis of faith. “I went through what many people do at that age, in my 40s, the sort of crisis of conscience about whether my personal values aligned with my work, which is where I spend most of my waking life,” she says. The answer was no, so she shifted gears and in 2008 joined Patagonia, known for profitably making outdoor gear while going to great lengths to protect the environment. Now Marcario is helping spread Patagonia’s environmental and social values through the Ventura (Calif.)-based company’s new in-house venture fund. Called $20 Million & Change, it will invest in startups trying to have a positive impact in five areas: clothing, food, water, energy, and waste.