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Icon of Surf, Skate and Snow – BOB MCKNIGHT
Founder and CEO, Quiksilver
Age: 53
Residence: Laguna Beach
Family: Wife Annette; 3 children
Hobbies: "My hobbies are obviously surfing and snowboarding, both of which I am pretty hard core about...but I also play golf, tennis and volleyball and I'm really getting into the 'stand-up paddling/surfing' sport."
By Melissa Adams Published: October 26, 2006
He's the American Dream epitomized, Surf City-style; a born entrepreneur and affable surfer who turned a teenage passion into a surf-skate-snow empire now approaching $2 billion in annual revenues.
In the summer of 1976, when USC business grad Bob McKnight began constructing board shorts with Aussie surf champ Jeff Hakman in a Costa Mesa Quonset hut, he never dreamed the enterprise would evolve into an industry-leading brand that sells the look, lifestyle and attitude of action sports.
Today, Quiksilver CEO McKnight rides the wave of an active youth culture from a sprawling Huntington Beach campus where executives cruise around on skateboards, reflecting the cool, go-for-it ethos in which the industry giant is rooted. With a nine-man executive team, he oversees 1,650 Orange County employees and 9,000 worldwide – many of whom intone his virtues as a manager who empowers people with a sense of ownership.
In the three decades since winning the license to distribute the Australian brand in the U.S., McKnight has taken the company public and expanded into the hot teenage girl market with Roxy. In 2004, Quiksilver acquired skateboard company DC Shoes. A year ago, it purchased venerable French ski brand Rossignol, with plans to grow its clothing line from $50 million to $500 million in five years.
"Our strategy is to let the existing team build and market skis. They've done a great job for 50 years with this 100-year-old brand," McKnight observes. "Our job will be building and marketing Rossignol ski and snowboard wear, and fashion wear."
What makes McKnight notable goes beyond numbers. With his vision, Quiksilver has remained true to its core with sponsorship of such surf celebs as Kelly Slater and Lisa Andersen. With Quiksilver entertainment, he's broadened the reach of the action sports lifestyle. In the "soft" side of the business – what McKnight calls "the grooveology stuff of our responsibility" – he's created a mindset grounded in exploration and environmental sensitivity.
The firm's mission to do more than sell action sports apparel is apparent with the Quiksilver Foundation and such projects as Quiksilver Crossing, an endless surf odyssey based on a 75-foot floating mascot that cruises the world's seas. In collaborative efforts with Reef Check, the Surfrider Foundation and Quikscience at USC, it's earned top marks for social responsibility.
"Our staffs worldwide, including myself, donate time, money and product to help global outreach projects that will benefit kids, the environment and humanity," says McKnight.
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He's the American Dream epitomized, Surf City-style; a born entrepreneur and affable surfer who turned a teenage passion into a surf-skate-snow empire now approaching $2 billion in annual revenues. In the summer of 1976, when USC business grad Bob McKnight began constructing board shorts with Aussie surf champ Jeff Hakman in a Costa Mesa Quonset hut, he never dreamed the enterprise would evolve into an industry-leading brand that sells the look, lifestyle and attitude of action sports. Today, Quiksilver CEO McKnight rides the wave of an active youth culture from a sprawling Huntington Beach campus where executives cruise around on skateboards, reflecting the cool, go-for-it ethos in which the industry giant is rooted. With a nine-man executive team, he oversees 1,650 Orange County employees and 9,000 worldwide – many of whom intone his virtues as a manager who empowers people with a sense of ownership. In the three decades since winning the license to distribute the Australian brand in the U.S., McKnight has taken the company public and expanded into the hot teenage girl market with Roxy. In 2004, Quiksilver acquired skateboard company DC Shoes. A year ago, it purchased venerable French ski brand Rossignol, with plans to grow its clothing line from $50 million to $500 million in five years. "Our strategy is to let the existing team build and market skis. They've done a great job for 50 years with this 100-year-old brand," McKnight observes. "Our job will be building and marketing Rossignol ski and snowboard wear, and fashion wear." What makes McKnight notable goes beyond numbers. With his vision, Quiksilver has remained true to its core with sponsorship of such surf celebs as Kelly Slater and Lisa Andersen. With Quiksilver entertainment, he's broadened the reach of the action sports lifestyle. In the "soft" side of the business – what McKnight calls "the grooveology stuff of our responsibility" – he's created a mindset grounded in exploration and environmental sensitivity. The firm's mission to do more than sell action sports apparel is apparent with the Quiksilver Foundation and such projects as Quiksilver Crossing, an endless surf odyssey based on a 75-foot floating mascot that cruises the world's seas. In collaborative efforts with Reef Check, the Surfrider Foundation and Quikscience at USC, it's earned top marks for social responsibility. "Our staffs worldwide, including myself, donate time, money and product to help global outreach projects that will benefit kids, the environment and humanity," says McKnight. |
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