Jeff Kelley, founder of Sanuk USA LLC, said he will “transition from an active role” at the Irvine-based footwear brand by the end of the year.
Sanuk President Jake Brandman will continue to lead the company. He has held the position since Kelley sold Sanuk to Goleta-based Deckers Outdoor Corp. in 2011 for $120 million.
“I am super-stoked on the team in place at Sanuk—they are totally capable of taking the brand to the next level,” Kelley said in a statement. “I will always consider Sanuk to be part of my family, and look forward to seeing what the future holds for everyone.”
Kelley’s next venture is Tea of a Kind, a bottled tea company that uses Gizmo—a bottle cap equipped with a nitrogen-pressurized “Gizmo chamber” that stores tea and once the cap is twisted, mixes it with purified water inside the bottle. The process prevents the product from getting stale, according to the company.
