Skullcandy, Inc. announced that its board of directors has appointed Hoby Darling as president and CEO effective immediately.
“On behalf of our board, I cant be more pleased to welcome Hoby to the Skullcandy team,” said Rick Alden, Skullcandy’s interim chief executive officer and board member. “The board is acutely aware of the needs of this organization and has moved swiftly to find the greatest resource to meet those needs. Hoby’s involvement with both emerging and global brands makes him the ideal person to lead this company. He is a best in class addition to this team, and will provide remarkable voice and leadership as the chief executive officer of this company. I look forward to working side by side with Hoby to build remarkable product, remarkable stories, and this remarkable company.”
Jeff Kearl, Chairman of the board, commented: “I want to thank Rick Alden for stepping in as interim CEO and helping the board access the needs of the organization. Im stoked that he has agreed to stay on full time at the company. He will play an integral role with the executive team at Skullcandy helping set the vision and strategy for the future, as well as attacking the immediate initiatives outlined on the last earnings call. We look forward to supporting Hoby and Rick in the next phase of growth at Skullcandy.”
During his tenure with Nike, Darling was a member of the Nike Affiliates Global Leadership team and served as the head of strategy and planning for Nike Affiliates (Converse, Cole Haan, Hurley and Umbro). Prior to Nike, Darling served as senior vice president, strategic development and general counsel at Volcom from its initial public offering in 2005 until its sale to PPR in 2011. Darling was named to Sporting Goods Business 40 Under 40 in Sports in 2010.
“I am extremely excited to join the Skullcandy team at this early stage of the company’s global growth cycle,” Darling said. “I have been admiring the brand’s progress since Rick started the company 10 years ago, and I see tremendous potential to leverage the platform and culture that is already in place. My years at Volcom and Nike have given me the opportunity to work side by side with world-class leaders of these great brands, and I look forward to applying all of my experience and learning to execute the near-term initiatives recently outlined by Rick and successfully driving Skullcandy forward over the long-term.”
