The executive who led the $2.1 billion 2007 sale of Oakley Inc. to Italy’s Luxottica Group SPA is stepping back and handing the reins to a longtime executive at the Foothill Ranch-based maker of sunglasses and clothes.
David Scott Olivet, former chief executive, stepped down last month. He’s now chairman, a newly created Oakley position.
“Oakley will always be part of me and I will be part of Oakley, formally or informally, for as long as I can be useful,” Olivet said.
Colin Baden, president of Oakley since 1999, has taken over as chief executive.
“Colin and I have worked seamlessly since the day we met, so I expect we will have no challenges making this work,” he said.
Olivet plans to start his own investment company and continue working for Oakley founder Jim Jannard’s latest venture, Lake Forest-based Red Digital Cinema Camera Co., a digital movie camera maker.
The Laguna Beach resident has started Renegade Brands LLC, which looks to invest in apparel and other consumer companies.
“I will play a variety of roles, from investor to active board member to executive depending on the situation,” Olivet said.
An art collector, Olivet also said he plans to step up his involvement with art galleries and buying.
He said he also hopes to “pursue some longstanding dreams such as a retail concept that I have had on the drawing board for five years.”
“Some businesses will be built from the ground up and others might be acquired selectively,” Olivet said.
The former Nike Inc. and Gap Inc. executive is spending more time at Red Digital, which has made headway selling its digital camera to TV shows and movie directors.
He’s an investor and executive chairman at the company, though he said his title is likely to change to be more fitting with others at Red Digital, which include “fire chief,” “hot seat” and “bomb squad,” he said.
Olivet joined Jannard in June to petition the Clark County Planning Commission on plans for an 80-acre campus for Red Digital in Nevada. The project won initial approval.
Baden was an easy choice to replace Olivet at Oakley, as he long has been involved with the company.
A former architect at Lewis Architecture of Seattle, Baden came to Oakley after advising Jannard on the design of a home in Washington State that never was completed.
Baden and Jannard put up half of the house on three different occasions only to tear it down and start again, he said.
“There was no purpose in it other than to hang out and try to outdo each other on the design,” Baden said.
Baden had a big hand in the design and construction of Oakley’s headquarters in Foothill Ranch.
He joined Oakley as a design director in 1996. Last month, he oversaw much of the reorganization at Oakley.
The changes made had been on the drawing board for about a year, Baden said.
“In North America, the whole team was overdue for a restructuring,” he said. “It wasn’t the lean, mean machine it could be.”
The company is down from 11 to four regions reporting to Baden, who reports to Luxottica Chief Executive Andrea Guerra.
The moves are part of Luxottica’s bid to grow Oakley into more of a global brand, according to Baden.
“For too long we have thought of this brand as Foothill Ranch, Orange County,” he said. “By consolidating the regions, we can create an organization and a process where we can think globally first and foremost.”
Oakley has weathered the downturn better than many other apparel brands. Luxottica’s sales were up 3.5% in the second quarter from a year earlier, due in large part to Oakley.
The economy “has affected us, but we’re still a growth company,” Baden said.
Baden said he still brainstorms with Jannard, who carries the official title of chief mad scientist at Oakley.
“I go over to Red sometimes and hang out, and sometimes he comes over here,” Baden said. “We chat about what I’m thinking for Oakley and we go over some ideas I have about Red. It’s a mutual relationship.”
Some things never change, he said.
“I’m still drawing houses for Jim,” Baden said.
