James Jannard (born June 8, 1949)
retrieved September 9, 2013 is an American designer, businessman and founder of Oakley, Inc., an eyewear and apparel company; and

Red Digital Cinema Camera Company Red Digital Cinema (''Red Digital Cinema Camera Company'') is an American company that manufactures professional digital cinematography cameras and accessories. The company's headquarters is in Foothill Ranch, California, with studios in Hollyw ...

Early life and career

Jannard was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the son of a pharmacist. He was raised in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from " Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains t ...

and was graduated from Alhambra High School. He attended the

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

School of Pharmacy, but dropped out to travel the southwestern U.S. on a motorcycle. In 1975, Jannard started a one-man business selling motorcycle parts out of his car at

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

events. He named his company after his dog, Oakley. He began developing his own products, including custom handlebar grips that conformed to the shape of one's hand, motorcycle goggles, ski goggles and sunglasses. Oakley sunglasses were used by bicycle racer

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...

, raising the company's profile. In the 1980s, Jannard restricted the sale of Oakley sunglasses to the

Sunglass Hut Sunglass Hut is an international retailer of sunglasses and sunglass accessories founded in Miami, Florida, United States, in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, the world’s largest eyewear company. As of December ...

, although small specialty shops could continue to sell Oakley sunglasses. In 1991, his company had 200 employees. In 1995, the company went public. Jannard sold Oakley in November 2007 for $2.1 billion to Italian company

Luxottica Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate and the world's largest company in the eyewear industry. It is based in Milan, Italy. Luxottica is a vertically integrated company, which has been described as a monopoly—it designs, m ...

, the world's largest eyewear manufacturer and retailer. In 2005, Jannard started

, maker of the some of the most popular digital cinema cameras in the industry. In 2009, he was named one of the 100 Most Creative People by

Fast Company Magazine ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

. On Oct. 24, 2019, Jannard announced his retirement, citing his age and "a few health issues."

Personal life

Jannard owns the

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

islands of Kaibu and Vatu Vara. He also owns the 500-acre Spieden Island in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

. In 1999, Jannard purchased two properties in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

for about $15 million.

References

External links

*
'The Hobbit' Director Peter Jackson: How Billionaire Jim Jannard Made The Film Possible
Forbes {{DEFAULTSORT:Jannard, James 1949 births American billionaires American chief executives Living people University of Southern California alumni Latter Day Saints from California