Jake Burton on next CEO, Olympic advice for skaters and more

I talked with Jake Burton yesterday to ask him more about stepping into the CEO role, how challenging it is for someone to be the CEO when Jake and wife Donna Carpenter are the revered and involved founders, and if he has any advice for skateboarding as it grapples with the Olympics issue.

Burton announced Monday that former CEO Laurent Potdevin is resigning and Jake will temporarily assume the job while the company searches for his replacement.

Key qualities in the next CEO

“I think it’s important to have an individual that connects with the sport and is passionate about it and the same for a connection with me and Donna,” he said.

Ideally, would the next CEO come from inside or outside the industry?

“We’ve had results positive and negative on both sides with that equation,” he said. “You can get too hung up on them coming from within the organization or the same on them coming from the outside because sometimes it’s nice to have a fresh perspective. If you get too focused on one or the other it can come back to bite you.”

Really, passion for the sport and a connection to him and Donna are the most important, he said.

“I don’t think that means they have to come purely from within the industry. I like to think we’re more open minded than that.”

(Above: Donna Carpenter.)

How hard is it to be the CEO of Burton, when you are so revered and involved?

“I think it’s one of the best jobs in the world,” he said.

There’s only been one other CEO besides Jake, and that’s Laurent, and “we had a great 15 years,” Jake said. “We had an incredible relationship and he accomplished a lot. My memories are nothing but good and that’s the only one I have to go by.

“There’s for sure an element or a side of it that is challenging – working for a guy whose name is on the door. At the same time, there’s a huge benefit, too – to have that kind of resource” to tap.

“It’s like being one of our children in a way,” Jake said. “Probably sometimes it sucks and a lot of times its great. It’s up to us to see that the positive outweighs any downside. I think we can accomplish that.”

When Laurent was there, how involved were you in the day-to-day?

“I’m very detail oriented person by nature, and I get very hung up on things like a zipper on a jacket,” he said.

Jakes tests all the products, and said if he has an opinion about something, he’s very determined to make sure the change happens.

He’s also been focusing on building stronger relationships with specialty retailers, and supporting and improving the connection to team riders.

On big picture issues, he has random objectives that he’ll push forward to the top but stressed other executives do the same – it’s not just about his objectives.

“Basically, my level of involvement has an element of randomness to it,” he said.