That business acumen is particularly important these days as Volcom has been hit hard by the drop in consumer spending.

WSJ: Bridging the Divide Between the Beach and Wall Street

The experience led him to collaborate with the company's human resources department to create Volcom University, an in-house education program for employees.

WSJ: Bridging the Divide Between the Beach and Wall Street

A. programs while working at Volcom, then teach employees how to apply the concepts from those lessons to their specific work at Volcom.

WSJ: Bridging the Divide Between the Beach and Wall Street