Kathmandu Holdings has appointed the CEO of the Rip Curl brand, Michael Daly, to head the whole group, which includes the Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz brands. Daly replaces the former CEO and managing director, Xavier Simonet, who left the company on April 9 to take the helm at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. He had already announced his intention to leave in December. Daly has worked for Rip Curl for 19 years, the last eight as CEO of the Australian surf brand, which is now in the process of finding a successor for him. Kathmandu’s chairman, David Kirk, said the company chose Daly after an extensive search for a new group CEO. Kathmandu had acquired Rip Curl in October 2019 for 350 million Australian dollars (€215m-$234m). The surf brand has since proven to be a good buy and has grown to be an integral driver of sales and profit growth for its parent company.

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