GARY HEWARD
CEO
Gary has been Owner and CEO of Liberty Mountain since 1997. After graduating with an MBA from the Stanford Business School in 1981, he has worked almost his entire career in the entertainment and Outdoor Recreation industries.
Gary’s love for the outdoors started as a 12 year old boy scout on a 50 miler, partly on the John Muir Trail out of Tuolumne Meadows. He had a 52 pound pack with no frame, filled with cans of Dinty Moore stew and Nalley’s Chili. His “technical” clothing consisted of Converse All-Star tennis shoes and Levis, as well as a sweat shirt for when it got cold. He had no pad or tent and only a cheap flannel sleeping bag. Over the course of the trip it snowed a couple of nights and the ground was hard and cold. Despite not knowing what the heck he was doing, he came back from the trip with a love of backpacking and the outdoors. Annual backpacking trips have been a tradition ever since, although usually without the Dinty Moore and with a little better gear prep!
Gary’s wife of almost 30 years, Diana, is Co-Owner of Liberty Mountain. Together, they have four children, all of whom have or currently work at Liberty.
Gary loves Liberty Mountain. He feels like the work he has done here, together with a great bunch of wonderful employees, has been the most rewarding part of his career. His goal has been to build the best distribution company in the outdoor industry, and it has become a passion and obsession for the entire team at Liberty Mountain. He is grateful for the success of Liberty Mountain and appreciates his dedicated employees and Liberty’s loyal customers.