Cassie Abel

Founder & CEO

ABOUT Cassie Abel

Cassie Abel is the Founder and CEO of Wild Rye, a certified B Corp women's outdoor apparel brand based in Ketchum, Idaho, dedicated to creating beautifully designed, technical mountain apparel that empowers women in the outdoors and beyond. After years working in a male-dominated outdoor industry, she founded Wild Rye in 2016 to fill a gap in the market for functional, stylish gear built specifically for women — bringing deep outdoor industry expertise and a background in communications and brand strategy, including her tenure as Global Communications Manager at Smith Optics and roles in marketing earlier in her career. Beyond Wild Rye, Abel founded Women-Led Wednesday in 2018, an annual shopping holiday and directory dedicated to elevating women-led businesses and encouraging consumers to support women in leadership with their dollars. A passionate advocate for welcoming more women into the outdoors and for female leadership in business, she was selected as a 2022 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow.

PROFESSIONAL SUPERPOWER

About Wild Rye

Wild Rye is an Idaho-based outdoor apparel company creating beautiful, technical mountain apparel designed exclusively for people who identify as women, across all sizes, ages, and skill levels. Specializing first in mountain biking and snow sports, the brand was built to fill a glaring gap: design-forward, high-performance gear that actually fits and flatters women, in an industry long centered on men. Beyond product, Wild Rye is on a mission to create a more inclusive, welcoming access point to the outdoors, building confidence and community while championing women from the backcountry to the boardroom.