Patagonia CEO says climate denialists are delusional: ‘If you step out of a window from the third floor talking about how gravity doesn’t exist, you’re still going to hit the ground’

In this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Kristin Stoller and I talk to Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert about his strategy for sustainable growth. Among the takeaways:

Be Aspirational. Nobody wants to buy apparel from Debbie Downer. (“Hey, fat cat, wear this coat on that melting glacier.”) Patagonia positions itself as the gear you wear to go climbing, skiing, fly fishing, careening off cliffs, and otherwise celebrating the great outdoors. “We are really proud of the product that we make,” said Gellert. “We do everything we can to minimize our footprint and we spend a lot of money doing it on performance innovation.”

Seek Impact. “Solving real problems on behalf of your employees, your customers and the communities you exist in. To me, that’s a pretty good definition of leadership …  If it were easy, I’m not sure the title ‘leader’ would apply.”

Have fun. Founder Yvon Chouinard wrote about setting a tone of trust and balance in his book, “Let My People Go Surfing.” Gellert says that informal culture is baked into the brand, making it “a pretty special place to work,” with its Ventura headquarters located close to a beach. Gellert’s sport of choice is rock climbing: “It’s absolutely addictive.”

Face Facts. Gellert met with us hours after President Trump dismissed climate change as a hoax during a U.N. address. “I will tell you this: science is undefeated, and if you step out of a window from the third floor talking about how gravity doesn’t exist, you’re still going to hit the ground,” Gellert told us. “When this era passes, these problems will be with us, and that, I think, is something that all of us, particularly those of us that bask in the glow of the title leader, really give serious thought to right now.”

You can check out our full conversation on Apple and Spotify, as well as YouTube. 

Also, Fortune this morning published Europe’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, with our editorial partner Great Place to Work. Click on these links to find out how AbbVie holds leaders accountable, Cisco uses AI agents, DHL Express trains supervisors,  Hilton adapts to different cultures, the world’s largest call center operator blends AI with emotional intelligence, and the Nordic approach builds engagement. 

And please join me for a special webinar with Great Place To Work CEO Michael C. Bush and business leaders from this year’s list on Oct. 16 at 8:00 AM ET. I look forward to a lively discussion about how these leaders – and you – can navigate new challenges without compromising on values or long-term success. Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top news

Ceasefire in Gaza

President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan that will pause the war, and return 48 Israeli hostages (of which only 20 are still alive) in exchange for 1,700 Gazans detained by Israel during the conflict. Aid trucks will also be allowed into Gaza. Live updates from the BBC here.

Republicans uneasy over House closure during shutdown

Republicans are growing increasingly antsy over Speaker Mike Johnson’s insistence that the U.S. House remain on a break during the shutdown. Congressmen and women are concerned that if they don’t act, military paychecks will stop being issued on Oct. 15. And, they note, keeping the House closed means the Epstein files stay sealed.

NATO plots armed response to Russia

NATO is considering deploying armed drones along the Russian border and relaxing rules that restrict fighter pilots from shooting down Russian jets in European airspace. Trump has endorsed opening fire on Russian aircraft if need be, the FT reports.

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Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

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PepsiCo’s bubbling reboot efforts

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Elsewhere: The president of Colombia complained that the Trump administration’s strategy of bombing "narco-terrorist" boats in the Caribbean is killing Colombian citizens … Trump said the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois should be put in prison for not assisting ICE.

The markets

S&P 500 futures were marginally down this morning. The index closed up 0.58% in its last session. STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.3% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.45% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.77%. China’s CSI 300 was up 1.48%. The South Korea KOSPI was up 2.7%. India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.33% before the end of the session. Bitcoin fell to $121.4K.

Around the watercooler

How a 23-year-old former OpenAI researcher turned a viral AI prophecy into profit, with a $1.5 billion hedge fund and outsize influence from Silicon Valley to D.C. by Sharon Goldman

American Eagle CEO defends Sydney Sweeney campaign: ‘You can’t run from fear. We stand behind what we did’ by Nick Lichtenberg

Jamie Dimon isn’t so sure the U.S. will avoid a recession next year—even if Wall Street is convinced otherwise by Eleanor Pringle

Inside the Trump team’s secret talks to rescue Argentina—with the help of the ‘Money Doctor’ who wants to stop the ‘pink tide’ sweeping Latin America by Shawn Tully

Zelda Williams says ‘stop sending me AI videos of Dad’ because ‘TikTok slop puppeteering’ tarnishing dead people’s legacies is ‘not what he’d want’ by Dave Smith

Some Ford employees say they’ve been warned they could be fired for not going back to the office, report says by Eva Roytburg

CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.