Michael Daly, CEO, Michael Daly is Chief Executive Officer of Rip Curl, an Australian-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of surfwear and apparel and a major athletic sponsor. Daly has been with the company for 11 years and previously held the titles of CFO and COO of North America before moving back to his native country of to act as COO of the entire company. Since becoming CEO in 2013, he has made a significant effort to promote the company’s growth in North America and has succeeded in defining the split between technical surfing equipment and apparel in order to expose the brand to two distinct market segments. The company has seen major economic growth since Daly was appointed CEO.

Before coming to Rip Curl, Daly was a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he executed a marketing transformation that increased the company’s annual revenue by over 200%. Bringing the skills from this initiative to Rip Curl, Daly has earned the company two SIMA Awards for "Women's Campaign of the Year" in 2013 and 2014 for the “My Bikini” campaign.

Daly has also pushed the brand to focus on athlete sponsorships and has formed partnerships with the top surfers in the world. Rip Curl currently sponsors the Number one men's surfer , the 2014 women’s world champion Gabriel Medina and surfer/model Alana Blanchard. An active member of the surfing community, he has previously been on the board of judges for some of the largest surfing competitions in the world including the Vans US Open, the Rip Curl Pipeline Masters and the Australian Open of Surfing.

Born and raised in the heart of Australian in Victoria, Daly grew up spending his weekends at the local surf club. The son of two professional surfers, the sport is in his blood. When he attended university at the University of Melbourne, he studied commerce and was pulled away from the world of surfing when he was offered a job with PricewaterhouseCoopers. After nine years with the company, he was able to combine his passion for surfing with his professional career when he accepted the COO of North America position with Rip Curl, even if it meant he would have to move halfway across the world. It was always his dream to return home to run the company from the Rip Curl headquarters in Australia. Daly now spends his days helping the surfing community by striving to develop the best surfwear and surf-inspired apparel.