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.

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 List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, 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 civic center. It was incorporated on July 11 ...

and was graduated from Alhambra High School. He attended the USC 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 competiti ...

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, ma ...

, the world's largest eyewear manufacturer and retailer. In 2005, Jannard started Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, 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 We ...

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

Personal life

Jannard owns the Fiji 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 Arc ...

. In 1999, Jannard purchased two properties in Newport Beach, California for about $15 million.

References

External links

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'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