by The Editors on March 24, 2011
On Wednesday March 23, 2011 Rick Alden announced that he was stepping down from his position as CEO of Skullcandy, the company he founded, and handing the position over to Skullcandy President Jeremy Andrus.
It is not known whether Alden, who was named 2009 Entrepreneur of The Year by Entrepreneur magazine, will remain in an active role at the company moving forward, according to sources.
[Update March 28, 2011: Rick Alden has officially “resigned” from the company but will remain on the board. Ouch! And right before the IPO. Someone obviously isn’t happy. Follow the jump for the official press release.] [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 17, 2009
Entrepreneur Magazine has named Skullcandy founder and CEO Rick Alden their Entrepreneur of 2009 based on reader voting online.
Inspiration hit Rick Alden on a chairlift, during a snowboarding trip in 2001. The iPod had just been introduced, but none of the headphones were designed to appeal to the iPod-toting action-sports crowd. It was time to change the game. . . Alden, now 45, is riding high. 2008 revenue topped $86 million, and 2009 was expected to reach $120 million.
It seems like months ago, but we think we voted for Rick. You’re welcome.
[Link: Entrepreneur Magazine]
by The Editors on July 28, 2009
Skullcandy’s CEO Rick Alden is up for Entrepreneur of 2009 in a contest held by Entrepreneur magazine. He is up against four other CEO’s that you’ve never heard of (click here for Rick’s video bio)
“The greatest part of Skullcandy for me has been the association with an incredible team of employees. Being blessed to work with these people every day is the best part of the ride,” Alden stated. “I have a high opinion of the importance of entrepreneurship in America, so to be included with this caliber of other founders in the premier magazine for entrepreneurs is an insane honor.”
If you’d like to help Rick win, click here and vote by October 12, 2009. And if you’d like to see someone else to win, click here and vote from someone else.
[Link: Entrepreneur.com]
by The Editors on June 6, 2014
Skullcandy founder Rick Alden explains the Alta situation quite succinctly in this edit. But here’s a little more:
Wasatch Equality began as a grassroots movement of individuals, families, and businesses committed to ending the anti-snowboarding policies at Alta Ski Area that have defined the resort since the early 1980’s. Long after the rest of the winter community has come to recognize snowboarding, it’s hard to believe there’s still an argument being made against the sport. . . By convincing Utah’s hold-out resorts to open their lifts to everyone, friends and families will be able to exercise their legal right to enjoy public land, regardless of how they choose to get downhill.
If you’d like to help Wasatch Equality in their efforts to open Alta Ski Resort to snowboarding, please click here to donate.
[Link: Wasatch Equality]
by The Editors on March 19, 2013
After less than a year-and-a-half at Nike (most recently as GM of Nike+Digital Sport), former Volcom General Counsel Hoby Darling has apparently accepted the job of CEO at Skullcandy, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal.
“I am extremely excited to join the Skullcandy team at this early stage of the company’s global growth cycle,” Darling said in a statement.
Interim CEO and founder Rick Alden has to be the happiest of the two, however.
“On behalf of our board, I can’t be more pleased to welcome Hoby to the Skullcandy team,” said Alden, in a news release. “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.”
It would appear that Darling enjoys a challenge.
[Link: Portland Business Journal]
by The Editors on March 7, 2013
Shares of Skullcandy were down as much as 11 percent in after-hours trading after announcing that their next quarter will result in a loss of 25 to 30 cents a share, according to a story on MarketWatch.com.
“We have not kept up with all the changing [headphone] trends nor have we led with our own innovations,” said Interim Chief Executive and Skullcandy founder Rick Alden. “We have remarkable resources to get this done. We now need to refocus these resources to get back to building remarkable products.”
The company reported a profit of $11.5 million on sales of $101 million, but it’s always the next quarter that the Street worries about.
[Link: MarketWatch]
by The Editors on February 7, 2013
We’ve pretty much stopped covering Skullcandy headphone company since founder Rick Alden left in 2011, but now we get the news that Alden is back in the CEO position. Current CEO Jeremy Andrus has announced that he was joining a private investment firm, according to a story on Twice, and Alden is now back in as “interim CEO.”
In a statement, Alden said: “I am honored to play this role in the next chapter at Skullcandy. This company has been my life since founding it and I’m excited to come back in as we enter our second decade. I could not be more fired up to jump back in and get my hands dirty, especially around product development and geographic expansion.”
And to think he didn’t even mention it to us when we saw him (pictured far right with Dennis Nazari, Terry Kidwell, and Dave Wray) at the SIA Show in Denver. In other news Skullcandy’s stock was down 7 percent today.
[Link: Twice]
by The Editors on July 24, 2011
In the “Legal Proceedings” section of Skullcandy’s final prospectus filed with the SEC before the company went public last week, there was a little bit about settlements for “an immaterial amount” made to three employees relating to alleged “improper workplace conduct by Rick Alden, our former CEO” in March 2011.
Our board of directors conducted an independent investigation regarding these complaints, discussed the facts and circumstances with the individuals involved, and ultimately determined to settle each complaint for an immaterial amount.
Not surprisingly, Rick Alden stepped down on March 23, 2011. And, if we’re not mistaken, wasn’t the Transworld Snowboarding Industry Conference in March as well? Oh, the ides. . .
[Link via Shop Eat Surf]
by The Editors on July 20, 2011
After seven months of news and S-1 additions and revisions action electronics company Skullcandy (SKUL.O) finally opened today (July 20, 2011) on the NASDAQ.
According to Reuters, Skullcandy raised $188 million dollars and is now valued at $535.6 million. With an IPO price of $20 the stock opened 17 percent up at $23 a share, but by the afternoon it was back down to the $20.30 range.
Rick Alden must be so proud and busy counting all that money. Then again, he may be bummed that that his stock just sat and didn’t triple like Zillow did today.
[Link: Reuters]
by The Editors on July 7, 2011
Since originally filing their S-1 with the Securities Exchange Commission on January 28, 2011 Skullycandy has gone through a few changes. First, founder and CEO Rick Alden resigned, then the company filed a series of amendments to their original filing. Yesterday, (July 6, 2011) they filed their fourth amendment the S-1, according to a post on Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch.
It appears they postponed it due a rough patch in the market. Smart. . . They list the maximum offering price as $19 a share. They are registering 9,583,334 shares and if they sell all of those, the offering will raise a bit over $182 million. But that includes the underwriters optional over allotment of 1,250,000 shares and is before expenses.
For the rest of Harbaugh’s analysis click the link.
[Link: Market Watch]
On Wednesday March 23, 2011 Rick Alden announced that he was stepping down from his position as CEO of Skullcandy, the company he founded, and handing the position over to Skullcandy President Jeremy Andrus.
