Greg Healy spent more than 30 years inside the global surf and action sports industry with Quiksilver and Boardriders, running regions across Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe. Before that, he was the youngest ever captain of an AFL football club in Australia, leading a team onto the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,000 people.

We cover a lot of ground here. Greg talks about what team sport taught him about resilience, what it felt like to go from critic to accountable when the board handed him the keys to fix North America, and the honest truth about leading through Chapter 11. He speaks candidly about the Rossignol acquisition, what hubris costs, and what Oaktree Capital taught him about quality growth over growth for its own sake.

"Sometimes it's never as good as you think it is. Alternatively, it's never as bad as you think it is. You're only one bad decision away from life being in a very different position than it was yesterday."

We get into the Billabong integration, the cultural friction of merging two fierce competitors, and what it actually takes to build trust across a divided team. The COVID section is probably the most honest part of our conversation. Greg was projecting confidence he did not always feel, and he is straight about that gap.

"Your coach's talks every morning just got us through. We just needed to hear someone say: we're going to be right, keep on path, just keep doing what you're doing, and we'll get through."

We also dig into founder ego, when to bring in an operator, the challenge small brands face entering markets owned by the majors, and why Greg, at 60, still wants to be in the game.

"Financially, I don't need to work, but emotionally, I certainly do. I'm not ready to hang the boots up yet."

If you are building something or running something, there is a lot in this one.

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Greg spent nearly 30 years with Quiksilver and Boardriders, covering Asia Pacific while stepping into the Americas and Europe when needed. His tenure covered the Quiksilver restructuring, Chapter 11 and transition to Oaktree Capital, and the Billabong integration. Former Boardriders CEO Dave Tanner called him a natural leader, culture carrier, and talent builder. He stepped down as CEO of APAC at Liberated Brands in August 2024.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:51 Meet Greg Healy

02:03 AFL Captain Lessons

03:33 Resilience From Sport

04:40 Fixing North America

05:40 Culture Shock Moment

07:46 Chapter 11 Reset

10:03 Ego Debt And Humility

11:54 Quality Growth Playbook

13:21 Turnaround Team Values

14:32 Cabo Momentum Shift

16:08 Acquiring Billabong

17:28 Merging Cultures Trust

21:35 Founders Ego and Operators

22:01 Leading Through COVID

26:23 Leases and Survival Detail

27:50 Lockdown Family Perspective

33:03 Quiksilver Cultural Heyday

35:25 When Global Brands Fracture

38:19 Small Brands and Channels

43:10 Why Work After Success

45:51 Advice For Stuck Founders

47:39 Global Expansion Nuances

50:24 Proudest Moments Legacy

52:03 How He Wants to Lead

53:09 Next Team And Farewell