Donna Carpenter | Building Burton: A Love Story

Donna Carpenter met Burton founder, Jake Burton Carpenter in a Southern Vermont bar on New Year’s Eve 1981. Within a year they married and became partners in business and life. Working side-by-side dipping snowboards in polyurethane and answering the customer service line that rang in the bedroom. Donna quickly became a driving force, helping to build Burton into the world’s leading snowboard company and also making Burton a brand of choice and employer of choice for women. Thanks to Donna’s leadership, Burton now has progressive parent policies, mentoring programs, and a diverse leadership team. In 2010, Donna stepped up to the role of President and then in 2016 went on to become Burton’s first female CEO.

Over the last decade, Jake began to experience a series of health challenges, and a recurrence of cancer eventually took his life in November of 2019. His last words to Donna, as she shares later in our conversation, speaks so much to the way they lives their lives, the relationship they had, the community they built, and the lives they created together. Earlier this year, Donna stepped out of the role of CEO to become Chair of the Burton Board of Directors, focus on advocating for the sport of snowboarding, being a strong climate activist, speaking up on behalf of sustainability efforts as well as advocating for more diversity on the mountain, in business, and in boardrooms.

You can find Donna Carpenter at:

Website : https://www.burton.com/us/en/home

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/donnacarpenter/

Check out our offerings & partners:

Air Doctor is a medical-grade UltraHEPA air filter. Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code GOODLIFE and you’ll receive a 35% discount.Sleep Number: Come in during the Biggest Sale of the Year when all beds are on sale! For a limited time, save 50% on a Sleep Number 360 Limited Edition smart bed. Shop your way, at a Sleep Number store, online at sleepnumber.com/GOODLIFE or by chat.