From the 14th of September, Keith Harkess will take up the post of director for product development and sourcing at the Californian surf brand, O’Neill. Therefore, Mr Harkess will be leaving his position as director general of the textile branch of Puma, where he has been since 2005.

Autumn-winter 2009/2010 campaign from O'Neill

“The knowledge and market experience of Keith [Harkess] are going to be a real trump card for the development of the O’Neill brand. He will be a valuable complement to our teams,” enthused Jan Valdmaa, director general of the O’Neill group. He concluded that, “he will bring with him the understanding of a stretched market, allying technical sporting products with fashion goods. His knowledge and experience will help to accelerate the growth of our brand; he will catalyse the unification and globalization of our collections.”

Before joining Puma, Keith Harkess was the director general of Dockers Europe, a position that he took up after having been director in charge of textiles, accessories and technical products at Adidas.

“As a ski fan, I strongly identify with the O’Neill brand. I hope that my experience and my understanding of the brand will allow us to take it to an even bigger stage,” explained Keith Harkess.

By Jonathan Fulwell (Source: Sarah Ahssen)