Emerging eyewear brand I-SEA announced Thursday that it has appointed Dutch Schultz as president and chief operating officer. Schultz, an industry veteran with over two decades of experience in the active sports and lifestyle sectors, is joining the company during a period of rapid growth and increased global demand.
Schultz previously held leadership roles at Troy Lee Designs and Volcom. While at Troy Lee Designs, Schultz served as chief operating officer, where he spearheaded strategic business transformation efforts and drove organizational improvements to scale the company globally. During his 11-year tenure at Volcom, he progressed through several executive roles, including global sales manager and SVP of global product.
In his role at I-SEA, Schultz will oversee daily operations and organizational development while taking a leading role in shaping the company’s global brand strategy alongside co-CEOs and founders Joey and Allison Santley.
“Dutch’s track record of building brands and leading teams through significant periods of growth makes him the ideal leader for I-SEA’s next chapter,” Joey Santley said. “His collaborative leadership style, operational expertise, and deep understanding of the lifestyle and active sports markets are invaluable as we expand our footprint and elevate our brand.”
Schultz said he was excited to join I-SEA at this juncture. “I could not be more excited to join this very talented and committed I-SEA team at this point in their journey,” Schultz said. “The momentum they have created through establishing a distinct market position, building global initiatives such as the recent partnership with the WSL, and nurturing meaningful relationships with consumers and specialty retailers is something special.”
The I-SEA team in the company’s new San Clemente, Calif., headquarters. Photo courtesy of I-SEA.
Schultz added that his focus will be on advancing I-SEA’s strategic initiatives. “As a team, we will build on this momentum by executing against our strategic plan focused on leveraging our current strengths, furthering investment into additional resources to ensure we maintain operational excellence as we scale, and continuing our commitment to putting our customers at the center of everything we do.”
I-SEA has been one of the surf industry’s biggest success stories the past few years, and the company has grown rapidly. Joey and Allison met each other at ASR, where Allison worked for 15 years before she joined a sunglass company on the East Coast. Joey, meanwhile, worked at O’Neill and Mantra. The couple started a private label sunglass business in 2016 that produced private label sunglasses for Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Outfitters, Tilly’s, Zumiez, and other national accounts, with the business serving as the precursor to I-SEA.
