Top Quiksilver Official to Take Golf Wear Post

Randall L. Herrel, Quiksilver president and chief operating officer, is leaving the surf wear manufacturer on Nov. 20 to become president and chief executive officer of the nation’s leading golf apparel manufacturer, the companies said Wednesday.

Herrel, 46, Quiksilver’s president for the last two years and chief operating officer for the last four years, is credited with helping Quiksilver boost its annual revenue to $190 million from $90 million.

Herrel will become president and chief executive officer of Carlsbad-based Ashworth Inc. on Dec. 9.

Herrel’s arrival “bodes well for Ashworth, which is already a very strong and exciting company,” said Joseph Teklits, an analyst with Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co. in New York. “And his skills can’t help but be missed at Quiksilver. It will be interesting to see how the stocks of both companies react to the news [this] morning.”

Quiksilver, one of Orange County’s leading surf apparel companies, has seen its stock tumble from a high of $47.125 to $26.50 after its earnings failed to meet analysts’ expectations.

Ashworth, which changed its name from Charter Golf Inc. in 1994, is the nation’s most popular golf apparel label.

Quiksilver Chairman Robert B. McKnight Jr. said he’d work with his board of directors during the next few weeks to “plot our strategy. We’re sorry to see Randy go, but it’s a terrific opportunity for him.”

Herrel, who joined Quiksilver in 1989 as chief financial officer, said that he’s making the move “to fulfill my personal goal of becoming a chief executive officer of a public company.”