Bernard Mariette, the former Quiksilver president, was appointed president and CEO of Coalision Inc., the Montreal parent of the Orage skiing brand and Lolë technical apparel brand for women.
Marriette said in a statement, “I first joined Coalision as a director, accepting the invitation of Eric D'Anjou and Kilmer Capital, the private equity fund that is investing in Coalision's future growth. In addition to sharing identical values with the co-founders Eric, Evelyn and Jean-Pierre Ferrandez, Executive Vice-President of Orage, I soon realized that the Coalision brands, the quality of their products, the fresh spirit of their team, and Kilmer's vision and support would allow us to develop something very strong and compelling. Thus, I accepted an operational role to accelerate the company's growth in North America and to further establish its brands in the rest of the world.”
Mariette resigned as president of Quiksilver in February 2008 after a 15-year career at the company. He became president of Quiksilver in 2001. Formerly, he was VP of Quiksilver Europe and earned credit for expanding Quiksilver's operations in Europe. Under his leadership Quiksilver also purchased Rossignol for $560 million in 2005. It eventually disposed of the Rossignol business in late 2008. Before Quiksilver, Mariette held positions with Marks & Spencer, L'Oréal and Timberland.
