Former Disney executive Andy Mooney lands at Quiksilver

A little over a year after his surprise departure from Walt Disney Co. as head of consumer products, Andy Mooney has been named chief executive of sports apparel company Quiksilver.

During his 11 years at Disney, Mooney was known for building the successful Disney Princesses and Fairies brands, as well as helping establish Pixar brands such as “Cars” and “Toy Story” as merchandising giants.

However ,he had tense relationships with some other senior executives at the company and chafed under a policy set by Chief Executive Robert Iger preventing him from joining other corporate boards. His announcement in September of 2011 that he would resign came as a surprise to many outside of Disney.

Many were also surprised by Iger’s decision to replace him with Bob Chapek, who formerly ran the home entertainment unit of Disney’s movie studio.

At a recent investor conference, Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo said Chapek has reorganized the consumer products business around franchises, such as “Cars” and Mickey Mouse, rather than categories such as apparel and housewares. The consumer products group has also taken over distribution of DVDs and video games from Disney’s film studio and interactive media units.

“When we’re walking in with what we know we’re going to produce in the next 12 to 24 months, that team can sit down with the Walmart team or Target team or whatever and have a more holistic conversation about what’s going to happen at Disney,” Rasulo said.

At Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver, Mooney succeeds company co-founder Bob McKnight, who has been named executive chairman.

“I am honored to lead Quiksilver, a company with a stellar reputation, a long, distinguished history of creativity and innovation and strong customer relationships,” Mooney said in a statement. “I am enthusiastic and energized about the opportunities ahead and look forward to working with the board, management team and our employees around the world to continue strengthening our brands, increasing global sales and driving operational efficiencies to fully realize Bob’s vision for Quiksilver.”

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