Founder to Be Oakley’s 4th CEO in Four Years

Oakley Inc., shaking up its corporate suite again, said Thursday that Chairman Jim Jannard will become chief executive, the first time he has held the position since he founded the sunglasses company in 1975.

Former Gatorade executive William Schmidt, who took the reins six months ago and quickly began expanding the Foothill Ranch-based company’s marketing efforts, has resigned.

Jannard, 50, will be Oakley’s fourth chief executive since the company went public four years ago.

“It’s a reflection of [Jannard] wanting to strongly reconnect with the whole Oakley team as leader,” company spokeswoman Renee Law said. “He’s had very clear strategic input [as chairman], but he’s very keen to get back in, hands on, leading the company.”

Jannard will continue to reside in the San Juan Islands in Washington, but Law said he will spend more time in Orange County, where he has a vacation home.

Neither Jannard nor Schmidt was available for comment. The company declined to say why Schmidt resigned.

“It was a mutual decision, but I don’t think it’s necessary, relevant or constructive to go into detail,” Law said. “The match between Bill and [the company] just didn’t bring about the synergy we had hoped.”

A friend of Schmidt’s said he and Jannard had clashing management styles. Moreover, Jannard, who owns almost 60% of the company’s stock, was attempting to run the business from Washington, another sore point, the friend said.

Last year, Oakley moved to build on its strong reputation as a sunglasses maker by introducing lines of athletic shoes and wristwatches. It has since expanded both.

With then-Chief Executive Linc Newcomb considered more skilled at operations than at building a brand, the company hired Schmidt on May 1 to lift Oakley to “the next level,” with a goal of building global sales to $1 billion. Last year Oakley’s sales were $232 million.

At Oakley’s shareholders’ meeting in June, executives discussed a broad push under Schmidt’s management to increase Oakley’s visibility and expand all product lines.

The next month, the company opened its first retail outlet, the O Store at Irvine Spectrum Center.

The company will continue the marketing initiatives Schmidt set in motion, Law said. Oakley, which had taken a low-key approach to marketing its products, announced in August that it had hired VitroRobertson as its first outside ad agency.

Schmidt’s resignation isn’t likely to have much impact on Oakley’s operations because his tenure was so brief, said Marcia L. Aaron, an analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.

On Thursday, the company’s stock closed unchanged at $6, slightly above its 52-week low, in New York Stock Exchange trading.