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  Quiksilver CMO Nick Drake - Shop-eat-surf file photo

Quiksilver CEO Andy Mooney announced internally today that the company’s Chief Marketing Officer is departing the company.

He also said in the memo that nine other positions in marketing were eliminated.

CMO Nick Drake joined the company in July 2013 from TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles, and ran the Adidas, Gatorade and Visa accounts for the advertising agency. Prior to that, he worked at Adidas.

My understanding is that the marketing changes signal a re-emphasis on core marketing after a period of difficulty for the company, particularly in the wholesale channels in Europe and North America. The other people who are departing are not necessarily names the industry would recognize.

In the internal memo, Andy wrote that by eliminating a management layer, the company would focus resources and reduce costs.

Longtime Quiksilver employee Garry Wall will lead marketing for both Quiksilver and Roxy globally, and he will be moving to France. Jeff Taylor will continue to lead DC marketing, and will remain in Huntington Beach.

Garry and Jeff will be responsible for the creative teams – traditional and digital – athlete management teams, public relations and go-to-market content creation for their respective brands.

Both will report to Pierre Agnes, Quiksilver’s longtime European leader and now Global Head of Apparel. This move marries marketing and apparel together, and puts in place someone who understands core marketing to oversee the department, Andy said.

“No one in our company (other than maybe Bob) understands the surf and snow industry and the DNA of our brands, more than Pierre,” he said in the memo.  “I have every confidence in Pierre and Garry’s ability to deliver on our principal objective for Spring ’15, which is to connect with core consumers and core retail partners.”

He also said he has complete confidence in Jeff Taylor at DC, a longtime industry person.

Andy believes the changes will reinforce the importance of the Quiksilver, Roxy and DC brands, speed up decision making, and reallocate marketing resources to help drive growth.

The changes come after two challenging quarters for the company, and after a significant decline in its stock price in the past year.