Columbia Sportswear 2026. Our proposal for proxy access is one of several items to be voted on before or during the annual meeting on June 10, 2026, at 3 p.m. Pacific time. Attend the annual meeting online. I suggest you vote in advance. However, you can also vote during the meeting with your control number IF voting isn’t cut off right after all proposals have been presented.
Vote FOR #5 Shareholder Proxy Access. Note: If you vote online and leave blanks, those blanks will be filled in, not as abstentions, but as if you had voted as the Board recommends. That’s not exactly democratic corporate governance.
View the Proxy Statement via the SEC’s EDGAR system (look for DEF 14A) or on CapEdge, which offers many free tools. In this case, I much prefer the CapEdge version of the proxy, since you can easily save it as a pdf, whereas that itsn’t true of the EDGAR system version. Here is a chart comparing relative investments in Columbia Sportswear compared to the S&P 500, so not one of our best investments… but it is sportswear, not AI.
Columbia Sportswear provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, and outdoor activities. The company also offers footwear products that include hiking boots; trail running shoes; rugged cold weather boots; sandals and shoes for use in water activities; and footwear for lifestyle wear. My wife liked her Columbia jacket.
Good corporate governance generally results in better profits and a better society. However, I don’t prioritize profits over our natural environment and human needs, especially when companies externalize costs. (see The Shareholder Commons) I take a systems approach.
Columbia Sportswear 2026 ISS Rating
Columbia’s ISS Governance QualityScore as of May 1, 2026 is 3. ISS Governance QualityScore as of June 4, 2026 is 3. The pillar scores are Audit: 3; Board: 5; Shareholder Rights: 2; Compensation: 5. Corporate governance scores courtesy of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). Scores indicate decile rank relative to index or region. A decile score of 1 indicates lower governance risk, while a 10 indicates higher governance risk.
Unpaid Product Endorsements
Diligent Market Intelligence has the best tools for looking up voting records and bylaw characteristics, determining how vulnerable companies are on specific issues, and deciding which proposals might be most productive, etc. I vote using my own proxy voting policy through iconikapp. Some funds announced their votes in advance.
Sign up for the iconik/AYS app or directly with iconik to automate voting for all your proxies in line with human values. In about two minutes, you’ll vote for all your proxies according to values that balance environmental, social, governance, and profitability considerations. More information is available at Free Proxy Advisor 
From As You Sow & Iconikapp.
I also look at the coverage provided by Free Float Analytics, The Center for Active Stewardship, and Nell Minow’s coverage at ValueEdge Advisors, as well as many others.
Columbia Sportswear 2026: Proxy Access Presentation
(Columbia only allowed 2 minutes)
Proxy access is a mainstream governance practice that gives substantial long-term shareholders an orderly way to nominate a limited number of directors on the company’s proxy card. It offers accountability, not control.
Governance influence at Columbia is unusually concentrated. Free Float Analytics rates our CEO as exercising approximately 73% of Board influence. It classifies the Board as “totalitarian.” Whether you agree or not, the underlying concern is legitimate.
Some directors have served for decades. The company rejects both term limits and mandatory retirement ages. Succession planning increasingly involves the Boyle family. Recent sales are flat. Gross margins and operating income are down, but the Company has been able to prop up stock prices through repurchases. These factors raise reasonable questions about board independence, refreshment, and oversight.
Without proxy access, shareholders seeking even modest board changes must wage a contest—expensive for both sides. Proxy access allows long-term shareholders to place a limited number of nominees on the company proxy for all to evaluate.
The company argues the proposal lacks details. But shareholder proposals are limited to 500 words. The Board is free to specify bylaw provisions, just as hundreds of companies have done before.
This proposal provides a constructive mechanism for board evolution before dissatisfaction escalates into confrontation.
Vote FOR Proposal 5, proxy access
River Rain and Common Ground: A Pacific Northwest harmony song for Proposal #5 – and Music for a Democratic Corporate Governance
Columbia Sportswear 2026: Notice of Exempt Solicitation Pursuant to Rule 14a-103
Registrant: Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM)
Annual Meeting: June 10, 2026, 3:00 PM Pacific Time
Person relying on exemption: Myra K. Young, Columbia Sportswear shareholder since 2015
These written materials are submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-6(g)(1) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Myra K. Young does not beneficially own more than $5 million of the class of subject securities, and this notice of exempt solicitation is therefore being provided on a voluntary basis. This is not a solicitation of authority to vote your proxy. Please DO NOT send me your proxy card; the shareholder is not able to vote your proxies, nor does this communication contemplate such an event. The shareholder asks all shareholders to vote in accordance with the procedural instructions provided in the proxy materials.
This exempt solicitation is made by Myra K. Young, beneficial owner of shares of Columbia Sportswear Company (“Columbia” or the “Company”), in support of Proposal 5, requesting adoption of proxy access. Shareholders are urged to vote FOR Proposal 5.
Columbia Sportswear Company — Vote FOR Proposal 5 — Proxy Access
RESOLVED: Shareholders request that the Board adopt a proxy access bylaw permitting substantial long-term shareholders to include director nominees in the Company’s proxy materials, subject to reasonable eligibility requirements and safeguards.
Proxy access is now a mainstream corporate governance practice among major U.S. public companies because it provides shareholders with a practical and orderly mechanism to nominate a limited number of directors on the company’s proxy card. Proxy access is not about taking control of the Company. It is about accountability, responsiveness, and constructive engagement between boards and long-term shareholders.
Why Proxy Access Matters at Columbia
Columbia has many experienced and accomplished directors. However, several directors have served for very long periods, some for decades. The Company also expressly rejects mandatory retirement ages and director term limits. At the same time, the Company is navigating succession planning involving members of the Boyle family.
These facts do not mean the Board is ineffective. But they do support providing shareholders with a reasonable mechanism to introduce additional perspectives if shareholders believe board refreshment or additional expertise would benefit the Company over time.
Proxy access provides a balanced alternative to costly and disruptive proxy contests. Without proxy access, shareholders seeking even limited board change must undertake expensive separate solicitations that can become adversarial and divisive. Proxy access instead creates a measured accountability mechanism by allowing long-term shareholders to place a limited number of nominees on the Company’s own proxy card for all shareholders to evaluate.
Rebuttal to the Board’s Opposition
The Board argues that the proposal lacks certain “safeguards” found in the SEC’s vacated proxy access rule. However, Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposals are limited to approximately 500 words and typically establish broad governance principles, rather than fully drafted bylaws. The implementation details cited by the Company are routinely addressed by the Company’s attorneys during the bylaw-drafting process, if shareholders approve a proposal.
The Board also suggests the proposal could create governance risks or permit unqualified nominees. That concern is overstated. Nasdaq independence standards, fiduciary duties, disclosure obligations, and shareholder voting protections would all remain fully applicable. Shareholders—not the proponent—would determine whether any nominee deserves election.
Importantly, proxy access has become a widely accepted governance right at major public companies. Large institutional investors have historically supported reasonable proxy access frameworks because they enhance accountability while preserving board stability.
Conclusion
Proposal 5 does not create instability.
It does not permit a change in control.
It does not replace the Board’s role in governance.
It simply gives substantial long-term shareholders a practical and less disruptive alternative to a traditional proxy contest. Proxy access promotes accountability without confrontation and refreshment without disruption.
Please vote FOR Proposal 5 — Proxy Access.
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