Boardriders Inc. lost President Pierre Agnes less than a month after the Huntington Beach-based action sports giant announced a deal to acquire main competitor Billabong International Ltd. in Australia.
Agnes, who joined the company in 1988, went on what was for him a routine fishing trip last Tuesday morning and hadn’t been seen since. His boat, the Mascaret III, washed ashore near Soorts-Hossegor in Southern France. A search for him was suspended the following day—in the cold and choppy waters of the Atlantic, it takes about three hours for hypothermia to set in.
“It’s such a tragic situation—so many of us that knew him well are just beside ourselves,” said Duke Edukas, owner of iconic surf shop Surfside Sports in Costa Mesa. “I’ve never met anybody that is so passionate about their brand, and so adamant about doing the right thing for everybody.”
Surfside Sports opened in the 1970s, about the same time Bob McKnight co-founded Quiksilver with Jeff Hakman—they got permission to license the brand in the U.S. from its creator, Alan Green, an Australian credited with inventing board shorts. Edukas met Agnes in 2015 “during a crisis situation” when Agnes replaced Andy Mooney as Quiksilver’s chief executive.
“We didn’t see eye to eye on certain things, but we came to grips with the situation and found we had mutual respect for one another,” Edukas said, referring to a former company retail strategy that discounted merchandise online, which in turn hurt sales at independent surf shops like his.
Respected Leader
Agnes, 54, was stationed at the company’s European headquarters in St. Jean De Luz. He was named managing director of Quiksilver Europe in 2003 and promoted to the region’s president in 2005. He became global head of apparel in 2013 and president in 2014, overseeing marketing, merchandising, design, development and sourcing, and managing Quiksilver’s European operations.
Shortly after taking the chief executive post, Agnes led the company through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which helped the surfwear manufacturer unload about $500 million in debt. Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP provided debtor-in-possession financing and assumed control of Quiksilver after the bankruptcy was finalized in early 2016. The private equity firm, which also owned a stake in Billabong, kept Agnes at the helm.
Quiksilver changed its corporate name to Boardriders last year to serve as an umbrella for the three main brands—Quiksilver, ROXY and DC Shoes.
“Our teams around the world have been building our resurgence brick by brick,” Agnes said at the time. “As we pivot to growth, we think it is important to recognize the importance of all three of our iconic brands, and the passion of the boardriding culture that those brands support.”
The move positioned the company to pursue Billabong, which also operated RVCA in Costa Mesa and Element in Irvine. The recent deal, which valued Billabong at $315 million, created “the world’s leading action sports company with sales to over 7,000 wholesale customers in more than 110 countries, owned e-commerce capabilities in 35 countries, and over 630 retail stores in 28 countries.”
Oaktree Managing Director Dave Tanner, former chief Boardriders turnaround officer, was named chief executive while Agnes took on the president role and was poised to “lead a substantial portion of the integration of the two companies.”
Wing Lam, co-founder of the Costa Mesa-based Wahoo’s Fish Taco restaurant chain and an avid surfer, said that losing a seasoned, respected leader could change the dynamic of the combination, now that Boardriders has to decide on Agnes’ successor.
“It probably took goodwill on his part for the deal to be consummated,” Lam said. “So much of the business is done on a handshake and not on paper.”
Agnes is “not replaceable,” said Tony Perez, director of marketing and strategic partnerships at Surfer Magazine, who added that “Quiksilver has no shortage of talent if they decide to stay within.”
Shortly after Agnes was reported missing on Tuesday, the company issued a statement, asking the public to “keep Pierre and his family in your prayers.” By Friday the message changed to that of remembrance.
“The only solace we can take from this is that Pierre left us while doing something he loved—enjoying the vast and endless beauty of the ocean, which had been one of his life’s passions,” Global President Greg Healy said in a statement. “His leadership left an exceptionally strong team at Boardriders. I know that he saw the resurgence and growth of Quiksilver and Boardriders as his legacy, and our teams around the world are committed to honoring his memory by carrying the business forward with the same passion and energy he infused in us all.”
Agnes leaves behind a wife and three children, as well as an extended surf family.
“I love this man,” pro surfer Kelly Slater wrote in a post on Instagram. “I’m praying for a miracle but it’s just starting to hit me what a profound effect this man had on my life and the surf community at large. He loved his morning fishing trips, family, @quiksilver, surfing, friends, motorbikes … I’m not even sure how to let it sink in.”
