Former Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe has now taken the same role at merino clothing firm Icebreaker, where he’s been executive chair of the board for the past nine months.

Fyfe’s been on Icebreaker’s board since 2012.

Under a new structure to take effect early next month, current CEO and founder Jeremy Moon will take the executive chairman’s role and become creative director.

“It was a big decision for me to hand over our business to another CEO, but I’ve seen Rob’s passion for what we are building at Icebreaker and I really admire his skills, especially with people,” says Moon.

Since it started 19 years ago, Icebreaker has established 19 company branded stores and has over 4000 wholesale customers and more than 400 employees globally.

Sales have tripled in the last six years and are forecast to exceed $200 million in 2014, with 80 percent now in Europe and North America.

“Icebreaker has truly excelled in establishing the merino wool category for outdoor apparel by leading exceptional product innovation while building the cleanest clothing company on the planet,” says Fyfe.