Quik Americas President on marketing leadership changes

Quiksilver Americas President Rob Colby provided us with some details about the new leadership team in Quiksilver’s marketing department.

Quiksilver announced yesterday that Ryan Scanlon is the new SVP of Marketing, Quiksilver Americas and Taylor Whisenand is the new SVP of Marketing Operations.  Whisenand will be reporting to Scanlon.

Scanlon will report to Steve Wilson, general manager of Quiksilver Americas.

Are these new positions?

Rob Colby: Yes, these are new positions.

Why move Ryan Scanlon from Australia?

Scano has been here in HB as the SVP of Global Product for a little over a year. He’s a great fit, and works really effectively with our other regions – Europe and APAC. Moving him into this role, with his background in product and design, was a really natural move to help the Quik brand move forward, and help Scano develop even broader skills.

The release talked about doing things differently. Can you give an example of what you are looking for?

I think we’d better let our actions do the talking on this one.

Is the old model of marketing dead?

Yes and no. Athletes (really every level of surfers and snowboarders) are always going to be the center of our universe. Our life-long relationships with tens of thousands of amateurs and pros is what makes us different, and it’s always been a big part of how we spend marketing dollars.

What’s changing are some of the new ways we develop relationships with people – everywhere — from our employees to our customers.

Are any existing marketing roles changing?

No, nothing else is changing. Obviously, roles and focus will continue to evolve.