Skullcandy hired Rich Sargente as vice president of North America sales. Sargente, who most served as VP of sales for Panasonic, will be in charge of leading all sales efforts in the US and Canada, as well as guiding channel diversification.

““We are excited to have Rich join our team to build up our North American retail presence,” stated Jeremy Andrus, President of Skullcandy. “Rich’s experience with audio products and accessories, in both large and small businesses – in and out of the CE industry – is a huge asset for us.”

Sargente has made a name for himself in the consumer electronics industry, beginning his career with Sharp Electronics, where he played a key role in launching the SharpVision brand. After Sharp, Sargente spent time with Gemini Industries and Philips Electronics, where he became VP of sales for North America for the Philips Accessories and Computer Peripherals group. Most recently, Sargente was the VP of sales for Panasonic, growing their consumer electronics division.

Said Sargente, “Skullcandy appealed to me for many reasons, but most importantly for its crystal clear understanding of how to build a strong and relevant brand that drives traffic & profitability into our retail partners. Our explosive growth is the tip of the iceberg as we enter into 2010 with awesome new designs and categories!”