Puma, the German footwear and athleisure company, is gearing up for the next chapter by naming Arne Freundt as the company’s next CEO. Arne takes over the position of CEO of Puma from Bjrn Gulden, who has been with the company since 2013. Arne Freundt will take over as CEO of Puma SE in November 2022. Freundt was also appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Supervisory Board. The German label has offered him a four-year contract starting January 1, 2023. Freundt has been Chief Commercial Officer on the Board of Directors since June 2021.
Arne Freundt will become CEO and Chairman of the Board of PUMA effective immediately. https://t.co/ZQ0YXxPnxk pic.twitter.com/EMIAixnd6f
— PUMA SE (@PUMAGroup) Nov 8, 2022
More about Puma’s new CEO, Arne Freundt, who has been with the German label for ten years.
Freundt was born in Germany in 1980. He started his career at Siemens Advanta Consulting in March 2005 and stayed there for 6 years as Senior Project Manager until June 2011. He started working at Puma in July 2011 as part of the Global Director Strategy team . From January 2015 to December 2018, he was Global Director of Retail and E-commerce. From January 2019 to May 2021, he was the General Manager of EMEA. He has just been elevated to CEO after being hired as Chief Commercial Officer in 2021. His teaching career has been fantastic as he attended the EM Strasbourg Business School and the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management.
What does everyone expect from Arne Freundt, the CEO of the German label?
Freundt’s new post has sparked everyone’s interest and they have high hopes for him. Hélodie Temple-Boyer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, commented on Arne’s new position:
“With Arne Freundt taking over as CEO, we have a recognized leader within the company.” Recognized as a contender, he is the right option to continue Puma’s highly successful route while accelerating the company’s pace. He loves the Puma family and will work hard to ensure Puma remains the best partner for Puma’s retailers, suppliers and athletes.”
Freundt himself is ecstatic about his new role:
“I consider myself fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Supervisory Board to lead this great company with great people and take Puma to the next level.” [Gulden] has been a great leader and I am grateful for our shared experience.”
Arne was previously responsible for Corporate Strategy and the Global Direct-to-Consumer division. Freundt has been appointed CEO by the Supervisory Board with immediate effect, after it was announced that Bjrn Gulden would take over as CEO of Adidas on January 1, 2023.
