New CEO for O’Neill
27/04/2009
Jan Valdmaa has been appointed chief executive officer of surf, snow and lifestyle brand the O’Neill Group, which was founded in northern California in 1952. Mr Valdmaa will replace interim CEO, Tom Heidman.
Mr Valdmaa is a Swedish national who has previously held a number of important senior management roles working with a selection of the world’s leading sports brands.
After joining adidas in 1990, Mr Valdmaa soon moved to the company’s global headquarters in Germany where he headed up the sports apparel business unit before working his way up further to the position of executive vice-president for global marketing.
In 2000, he left adidas to become CEO of Helly Hansen and stayed at the Nordic outdoor sports brand until 2006, steering it through a change of ownership. Next he became non-executive chairman of Integrix Sports Group, and only six months later also assumed the role of CEO. During his time at Integrix, Mr Valdmaa played a key role in restoring the fortunes of Fila, the iconic Italian and now South Korean-owned sports brand.
“I’m delighted to be joining the O’Neill Group,” he said, “as the company continues to move towards its goal of growing the O’Neill brand on a worldwide scale. He said the brand boasted an enviable heritage in surf and snow.
Tom Heidman said: “I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Jan as CEO. I strongly believe that Jan’s breadth of experience in the lifestyle sports brands industry together with his equally impressive experience in change management make him exceptionally qualified for the task at hand.”
Mr Valdmaa will take to the helm at the O’Neill Group on June 1.
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