Lloyd Alva Anderson (August 4, 1902 â September 13, 2000) was an American business executive who co-founded the retail and outdoor recreation services corporation Recreational Equipment, Inc (REI) in 1938 with his wife Mary Anderson. As avid mountaineers they saw a need for quality gear so created a consumer cooperative company that is one of the largest recreational equipment retailers. They were inducted into the Cooperative Business Association's Hall of Fame in 1993.
Anderson's first ascents include Mount Triumph (1938), Sinister Peak (1939), Forbidden Peak (1940), Tenpeak Mountain (1940), Klawatti Peak (1940), and Dorado Needle (1940).
Anderson was born to John Anderson and Adda Wilson Bush Anderson in Roy, Washington. He studied at the University of Washington, earning a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and worked for Seattle's transit utility. He died in 2000.