Skullcandy CEO Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Rick Alden, CEO and Founder of Skullcandy, Named 2008 Regional Entrepreneur of the Year
PARK CITY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rick Alden, CEO and Founder of Skullcandy, was named winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 award for Utah on Friday, June 27th. Acknowledged for his outstanding leadership while delivering exceptional growth of Skullcandy, Inc., a leading developer of core audio products, Alden is one of 26 regional Entrepreneur of the Year recipients. This win secures Alden a seat as a nominee for the national award, which will be announced on November 15, 2008 at a black-tie gala hosted by comedian Jay Leno.
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award recognizes men and women who have excelled at growing and sustaining market-leading businesses. As CEO and Founder of Skullcandy, Alden has built a company dedicated to producing high-performance audio products, successfully saturating both the mainstream and action sports markets.
The recipe for Skullcandy's success can be directly attributed to Alden's razor sharp focus on keeping true to his personal passion for the outdoor action sports market - delivering products and making a name for Skullcandy in a niche space before bringing it to a wider audience.
“Skullcandy has been a crazy venture since day one,” Alden stated. “Being an entrepreneur is normally an independent activity. Ernst & Young has spent 20 years fostering entrepreneurial communities bringing resources together with opportunities. Thank you to Ernst & Young for their support of young companies and this unique recognition. There is nothing better than finding a project you love, building an incredible team to work with, and watching it grow.”
Creating audio products for the action sports industry and staying true to the needs of his core customers, Alden has also created demand in the mainstream market. His passion and strategy continues to yield tremendous results, as Skullcandy is currently experiencing its fourth year-over-year growth of more than 300 percent.
In 2003, Alden formed Skullcandy to offer fashionable, high-performance headphones to a core demographic in the action sports industry. In just five years, Skullcandy has introduced a line of more than 100 skews of headphones as well as other audio products, such as backpacks with built-in speakers and iPod accessories. Skullcandy products are available in more than 40 countries worldwide. Alden currently resides in Park City, Utah with his wife of 18 years and his four children: Tyler (16), Autumn (12), Brooklyn (10) and Preston (8).