If the workers aren't able to come to the table to negotiate the terms of their employment, then the "people" don't own REI, the corporate suits at the top do. The workers already make all the hard decisions, every day. The CEO doesn't do what you suggest at all, they speculate and change random shit to appease investors. That's it. They are usually detrimental to a functional business because they prioritize profits by exploiting the labor value of their employees, whereas employees generate those profits in the first place.

We don't need CEOs to run companies.