Biography

Pierre Andre Senizergues (sin-e-zerg), founder and CEO of Sole Technology, parent company of etnies, etnies Girl, etnies Plus, S, Emerica, Altamont Apparel and ThirtyTwo, continues to cultivate its brands as a global leader in footwear and apparel while providing the most quality, function and style for skateboarders, as well as preserving the core spirit of action sports. As the first professional skateboarder to own and operate a footwear brand, Senizergues showcases tireless work ethic and dedication to seeing skateboarding flourish on a global level. Senizergues has guided the Sole Technology brands to unprecedented levels of success for more than a decade and demonstrated undeniable passion for the environment by staying true to its skateboarding roots as a leader of sustainability in the industry.

Senizergues began skateboarding at the age of 15 in his hometown of L'Hay Les Roses, France, a suburb of Paris, and spent most of his formative years skating around the City of Lights. After attending the Universitaire de Technology of Paris XI in the early 1980s, Senizergues became an engineer for IBM France before moving to the U.S. in 1985 to pursue his dream of skating in California. As one of the premier professional freestyle skateboarders of the 1980's, Senizergues won 12 French Championships, nine European Cup Titles, five European Championships, two World Cup Event wins and one World Championship during his career.

In 1988, two years after the inception of etnies, Senizergues began riding and designing skate shoes, including his first pro model shoe the Senix and other key styles like the Lo-Cut, Low-Top Rap, Intercity and Scam. These designs were created with skateboarders in mind, and consisted of a unique blend of fashion, durability and quality that had not been previously seen or created in the industry. A year later, Senizergues began distribution throughout the U.S. and later gained full rights to the etnies name worldwide.

While Senizergues embodied the risk-taking and entrepreneurial spirit that drove the etnies brand, his empire began to take full shape as he launched an additional three new footwear and apparel brands S, Emerica, and ThirtyTwo and consolidated all four labels under the Sole Technology umbrella, including the newest addition of the company's first apparel only brand, Altamont Apparel. Today, with headquarters based in Lake Forest, California, over 400 employees, international distribution in more than 70 countries, and regional offices in New York, China, the Netherlands, Switzerland and recently the United Kingdom, Sole Technology is one of the leading action sports footwear and apparel companies in the world.

In addition to being one of the pioneers and most celebrated names in action sports today, Senizergues has taken footwear technology to another level with the development of the Sole Technology Institute (STI), the world's first research facility dedicated to studying the impacts and movements of skateboarding on the human body. He has also dedicated resources to giving back to youth and created a positive environment for kids to enjoy skateboarding with the construction of the 40,000 square-foot etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest located at Sole Technology's headquarters.

An ardent advocate of the environment, Senizergues' ultimate goal is a company that is successful on the balance sheet, the streets, the slopes, the runways and ultimately on our amazing planet. In addition to giving back to youth and action sports, he has continued to devote resources in implementing an aggressive company-wide sustainability strategy with a full commitment to corporate responsibility. To date, Senizergues has already employed the installation of 616 solar panels, the conversion to water-based cement manufacturing, the addition of the first-ever environmental affairs manager in the action sports industry, corporate-wide recycling efforts and the launch of a sustainable footwear and apparel collection, the etnies SEED Project.

In recognition of his endeavors, Senizergues has received numerous accolades; including the Orange County Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Immigrant of the Year Award, OC Metro's Hot 25 and Most Influential CEO's in Orange County, and most recently, was listed as one of Footwear News' Power 100. Senizergues was also recognized as one of the Top OC Innovators by the Orange County Register for his environmental practices and corporate responsibility by revolutionizing the way Sole Technology does business.