James Jannard
Born1949
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California (dropped out)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forfounder of Oakley, Inc.
founder of RED Digital Cinema

James Jannard (born 1949)[3] is an American designer and businessman, and founder of Oakley, Inc., an eyewear and apparel company, and RED Digital Cinema.

Early life and career

Jannard was born in Los Angeles but was raised in Alhambra, California, the son of a pharmacist,[4] and graduated from Alhambra High School.[3] Jannard attended the USC School of Pharmacy but dropped out to travel the southwestern U.S. on a motorcycle.[1][4] In 1975, he started a one-man business selling motorcycle parts out of his car at motocross events. He named his company after his dog, Oakley.[1] He began developing his own products: first, custom handlebar grips that conformed to the shape of one's hand[4] and later motorcycle goggles, ski goggles, and sunglasses.[1] One model of sunglasses was used by bicycle racer Greg LeMond, raising Oakley's profile.[1] In the 1980s, he restricted the sale of Oakley sunglasses to the Sunglass Hut (although small specialty shops could continue to sell Oakley sunglasses).[4] In 1991, his company had 200 employees.[1] In 1995, the company went public.[4]

He sold Oakley in November 2007 for $2.1 billion to Italian company Luxottica, the world's largest eyewear manufacturers and retailers.[5]

In 2005 Jannard started Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. In 2007, RED released the RED ONE which was used to shoot Wanted, Che, The Informant, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In 2010, RED released the RED EPIC which was used to shoot The Amazing Spiderman, The Hobbit, Prometheus, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Great Gatsby as well as many other feature films.

In 2009, Jannard was named one of the 100 Most Creative People by Fast Company Magazine.[6]

Personal life

Jannard owns the Fiji islands of Kaibu and Vatu Vara.[7] He also owns a 500-acre island in the San Juan Islands archipelago.[1] In 1999, Jannard purchased two properties in Newport Beach, California, for about $15 million.[8]

Jannard's spouse is Misha Jannard.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Andrew Tilin (July 2012). "Supreme O - It all started with a pair of sunglasses. 441 patents later, Oakley hopes its sports gear will make extreme history". Wired.
  2. ^ a b Forbes: The World's Billionaires - James Jannard Nov. 2015
  3. ^ a b City of Alhambra: "Famous Residents & Graduates from Alhambra" Archived 2010-12-13 at the Wayback Machine retrieved September 9, 2013
  4. ^ a b c d e Ed Leibowitz (March 16, 1997). "A trip to Planet Oakley". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ Bellantonio, Jennifer. "Why Jannard Opted to Sell: Price, Changes, Side Project". AllBusiness.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  6. ^ [1] Archived December 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Lealea, Sai (2010-10-23). "Sun Glass Billionaire Buys Kaibu and Vatuvara Islands in Northern Fiji". YacataFiji.Org. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  8. ^ "Oakley CEO Buys Home (and View) for $7 Million". Los Angeles Times. 1999-10-12. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
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