Ian deQueiroz

 I've called a dozen places on three continents home, built companies from scratch and chased storms, swells and rivers wherever they led. Today I split my time between British Columbia and the North Shore of Oʻahu. This site is a small glimpse of an incredible planet, and an invitation to go explore it.

Family

My father, João, grew up in Brazil, one of seven children, and came to the United States at fifteen after his mother died. He became a soil scientist, with a PhD from the University of Utah, and his work set the course of my childhood: the University of Nairobi when I was two, mapping the soils of all of Botswana, the Altiplano of Bolivia, USAID in Kenya, climate monitoring across Central America, and conservation work with the Waorani and Cofán in the Ecuadorian Amazon. My mother, Rose, has a master's in English and taught English as a second language in Kenya before moving back to California when I was seven. I spent most of the years after that in Kenya with my dad and later finished high school in California with my mom.

Heritage

The deQueiroz name comes from my grandfather: Brazilian, of Portuguese descent, from a line our family tree follows back through the royal houses of Aragon, Castile and Leon in Portugal and Iberia. My grandmother on that side was Ukrainian-American, born in Boston, where they met before moving to Brazil. My mother's side is Irish: the Judges, once O'Judge, and the Gallaghers. When my mother left the deQueiroz name, she took Gallagher to honor her mother. I grew up a foreigner almost everywhere, and I've come to love it. It taught me to be at home anywhere.

What I believe

• Kids who grow up outside grow up stronger. The outdoors saved me as a kid with too much energy. Draft, from Ian's own LinkedIn post
• A healthy amount of fear brings you into the moment like nothing else.
• The world is huge and incredible. We need to make the most of it.

Home, in order

Utah · Kenya · Botswana · Kenya · California · Bolivia · Kenya · California · Brazil · Ecuador · California · Hawaiʻi → now British Columbia and the North Shore

Travels so far include British Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Idaho, Colorado, Mexico, Ireland, France, Italy, Greece and Ukraine.

I don't regret a single one of my peak experiences. So I keep creating more.

Growing up in Africa taught me to get along with almost anybody and to be okay with being different. Life there is real: the consequences are real, the frivolous stuff falls away, and people are just people. I have so much love for Kenya, and I carry that sense of how big and incredible the world is into everything I do.

Adventure brings me fully into the moment. Picking a line through a rapid, your brain makes thousands of decisions a second, and everything else disappears. I thrive there. It keeps me focused, healthy and feeling young, and it builds friendships that last a lifetime.

The companies come from the same place. Balsa Tribe grew out of time in the Ecuadorian Amazon with my dad; SENDY grew out of a life spent chasing snow and swell. I build things for the people who live this way.

1. 2022 – nowCo-founder and CEO, SENDYThe gear hub for adventure sports, co-founded by Travis Rice and Cam Zink.
2. 2014 – 2022Founder and CEO, HempFusionBuilt from scratch to a TSX IPO and $100M+ in value; HempFusion, Probulin and Sagely Naturals in 20,000+ stores from two owned warehouses. Raised a seed round, convertible note, Series A and Series B, then led the IPO; hired 50+ people including the whole C-suite; one international merger and four acquisitions. Then Chief Brand Strategy and Partnerships.
3. 2015 – 2018 · JamaicaCo-founder, EpicanEpican was awarded Jamaica's first cannabis cultivation license. Ian moved on in 2018, when The Green Organic Dutchman invested in the company.
4. 2006 – 2011 · Quito, EcuadorFounder and CEO, Balsa Tribe surfboardsThe world's first fully biodegradable surfboards, built in his own factory on Ecuador's south coast from sustainably harvested balsa. Also exported 26 South American product lines to retailers like Neiman Marcus and Fred Segal, working with cooperatives of 350+ women. A Balsa Tribe 10'6" gun was ridden by Titus Kinimaka in the Eddie Aikau. When the 2008 crash froze payments across the surf industry, he sold the factory and team to Spain's Kuntiki in 2011; the boards are still sold across Europe.
5. 2006 – 2011 · Southern California and EcuadorSourcing partner, Livity OuternationalAlongside Balsa Tribe, sourced handmade Ecuadorian hats, fabrics and materials for the fashion brand's lines, sold in retailers like Fred Segal. Multiple board seats along the way.
6. 2001 · Guatemala CityU.S. Department of StateEmbassy internship: 25+ visa interviews a day, in Spanish.

See the full record on LinkedIn →