Late news out of Quiksilver this evening. Quiksilver Americas President Marty Samuels has resigned after 12 years of leadership roles.

Craig Stevenson, currently global president of the Quiksilver brand and head of Quiksilver’s South Asia Pacific division, was named interim president of the Americas.

Quiksilver is struggling under a heavy debt load and has been moving to cut costs and create efficiencies. It is also looking for financial partners and exploring strategic alternatives as it attempts to gain a more solid financial footing.

Marty Samuels, left, former president of Quiksilver Americas with
Craig Stevenson, middle, now the interim president of Quiksilver
Americas, and Pierre Agnes, president of Quiksilver Europe.

Here is the release.

Press Release Source: Quiksilver, Inc.

Quiksilver Americas President Marty Samuels Resigns
Monday January 12, 8:54 pm ET
Company Names Craig Stevenson Interim President of Americas Region

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE: ZQK – News) today announced that Marty Samuels has left the company. Samuels, who most recently served the company as President of its Americas region, had been with Quiksilver for twelve years. Craig Stevenson has been named interim President of Quiksilver Americas effective immediately. Stevenson has served Quiksilver in various roles of increasing responsibility over the past sixteen years, most recently as Global President of the Quiksilver Brand and President of Quiksilver’s South Asia Pacific business based in Australia.

Robert B. McKnight, Jr., Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, “I would like to thank Marty for his many contributions to Quiksilver over the last twelve years. Marty was instrumental to our growth during his time here, a period in which we’ve established ourselves as the leading action sports lifestyle company and we will miss him. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Samuels commented, “I loved every minute of my time with Quiksilver, and I wish Bob and all the great people I’ve worked with the very best of luck.”

Mr. McKnight continued, “As we work to better align our cost structure and improve the efficiency and execution of our global business, I am confident that Craig is the right person to lead the Americas team in this difficult environment. His many years of experience at Quiksilver and his intimate working knowledge of the brands, the products, the markets and our sales process uniquely qualify Craig to lead our Americas team back to our core businesses. Through his passion to ensure the authenticity and consistency of the Quiksilver brand around the world, Craig has been one of the principal contributors to our strong corporate culture. Craig has already earned the respect of his peers around the world as one of our regional Presidents and this appointment provides him with an even greater opportunity to be a deciding factor in our future success.”

Stevenson has been involved in the surf industry for 28 years and joined Quiksilver in 1992. In addition to his various operational roles including responsibilities in sales, marketing and merchandising, Stevenson was appointed to the Board of Directors of Quiksilver Australasia in 2001 and was appointed its Managing Director in 2002.

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