Sports Media Report
On July 1, 2022, Bruno Cercley will take over the chairmanship of the supervisory board of Aqualung Group, the world leader in diving equipment and watersports. He will lead a major transformation plan in a context of growing business activity since the end of the COVID period.
After having successfully led the turnaround and an unprecedented international expansion of the French iconic ski leader Rossignol between 2008 and 2021, Bruno Cercley is going to dedicate his experience and know-how to the transformation and development of another iconic French player of the outdoor industry, Aqualung.
Owner of prestigious brands in the “blue outdoor” business (Aqualung, Apeks, Omer, Aquasphere, etc.) of which it is the world leader, Aqualung Group started two years ago a major transformation plan aiming at federating its brands, better organizing its production sites, and reinforcing all its support, commercial and innovation – R&D functions.
After a period of sanitary restrictions due to COVID during which the practice was severely disrupted worldwide, it is in a rebound phase with significant challenges on all key operating processes to keep up with consumer demand. Bruno Cercley’s mission will be to bring together Aqualung’s worldwide teams around a common ambition: to share the diving and watersports experiences with an ever-growing audience by providing ever more innovative equipment.
Based in Sophia Antipolis near Nice in France, pioneer of modern diving with the invention of the diving regulator by Jacques Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan almost 80 years ago, Aqualung Group currently employs 850 people and has a turnover of nearly 200 million euros. It has a commercial presence in the United States (San Diego) and production sites in Western Europe (France, United Kingdom, Italy) and North America (Mexico). It exports its production to more than a hundred countries through a comprehensive distribution network of diving centers and stores.
Bruno Cercley declares: “I am very happy to have the opportunity to contribute to Aqualung’s future, whose DNA is very close to that of Rossignol: teams of passionate people, a world leader position based on permanent innovation and products excellence, the control of manufacturing with its own factories, a worldwide sales and service network, especially in North America. The business rebound requires a change of scale and optimizations of all key processes, including those of the supply chain. Enabling Aqualung Group to succeed in this promising step is an exciting human adventure”.
Bruno Cercley, who led the turnaround, development and continuous improvement of the Rossignol group between 2008 and 2021, remains a member of its supervisory board.
