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Puma SE

Sportswear and athletic apparelFounded 1948
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Puma: CEO History

4 leaders · 1993 to present

Who is the CEO of Puma?

Arthur Hoeld is the CEO of Puma, in the role since 2025. The first chief executive was Jochen Zeitz, from 1993.

Current CEO
Arthur Hoeld (since 2025)
First CEO
Jochen Zeitz (1993)
Leaders documented
4
Founded
1948
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Arthur HoeldChief Executive Officer2025Present1
Arne FreundtFormer Chief Executive Officer202220253
Bjorn GuldenFormer Chief Executive Officer201320229
Jochen ZeitzChairman and Chief Executive Officer1993201118
Who was CEO of Puma before Arthur Hoeld?
Arne Freundt was CEO of Puma from 2022 to 2025, before Arthur Hoeld took over in 2025.
Who is the CEO of Puma?
Arthur Hoeld is the CEO of Puma, in the role since 2025.
Who have been the CEOs of Puma?
The CEOs of Puma documented here are Jochen Zeitz (1993–2011), Bjorn Gulden (2013–2022), Arne Freundt (2022–2025) and Arthur Hoeld (2025–present).

Company Overview

Puma SE is a Herzogenaurach, Germany-based sportswear company founded by Rudolf Dassler in 1948, and it is the third-largest brand in the industry after Nike and Adidas. It reported €7.30 billion (about US$8.2 billion) in 2025 sales and employed 21,194 people. Puma is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker PUM). Former Adidas executive Arthur Hoeld has led it since July 1, 2025. In January 2026 the Pinault family's Groupe Artémis agreed to sell its 29.06% stake to China's Anta Sports for about $1.69 billion (€1.5 billion) (€35 per share), which will make Anta the largest shareholder. Puma was founded in 1948 in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany, by Rudolf Dassler following the historic split from his brother Adolf Dassler, establishing an enduring global athletic and sportswear powerhouse.

Arthur Hoeld

Chief Executive Officer

2025 – Present

1 year (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Hoeld spent more than 26 years at Adidas, joining in 1998 and holding roles including General Manager of the Originals division, Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy and Business Development, Managing Director for Europe, and Chief Sales Officer, sitting on Adidas's Executive Board until October 2024. He became Puma's CEO effective July 1, 2025, following an interim period led jointly by Puma's CFO, CPO, and CCO after predecessor Arne Freundt's departure.

Legacy

Hoeld declared 2025 a reset year: Puma cleared inventory, cut low-margin mass-merchant wholesale business and took restructuring costs, leaving FY2025 sales down 13.1% at ~$8.25 billion (€7.30 billion) with a net loss of about $729 million (€645.5 million). He named 2026 a transition year. In Q2 2026 sales fell 9.4% currency-adjusted to ~$1.91 billion (€1,690.6 million), while gross margin rose about 180 basis points to 48.0% and Puma confirmed its full-year outlook.

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Arne Freundt

Former Chief Executive Officer

2022 – 2025

3 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Freundt spent more than ten years at Puma, becoming Chief Commercial Officer and a Management Board member in June 2021, before being named successor to CEO Bjorn Gulden. He took over with immediate effect on November 8, 2022, ahead of a planned January 2023 start, after Adidas confirmed Gulden as its own incoming CEO.

Legacy

Freundt led Puma for about two and a half years before stepping down on April 11, 2025, amid publicly stated 'differing views on strategy execution' with the board, after 14 years in various leadership positions at the company.

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Bjorn Gulden

Former Chief Executive Officer

2013 – 2022

9 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Gulden became Puma's CEO in July 2013 after serving as CEO of Danish jewelry brand Pandora (2011-2013), managing director of European footwear retailer Deichmann, and earlier as a senior vice president of apparel and accessories at Adidas from 1992 to 1999. At Puma, he signed Rihanna's original Fenty x Puma partnership, focused on repairing wholesale relationships, and pulled the company out of years of financial stagnation.

Legacy

Gulden is widely credited with saving Puma, delivering record sales and earnings by 2021, before resigning at the end of 2022 to become CEO of rival Adidas -- a rare direct executive move between the two Dassler-founded competitors. His move directly from Puma's CEO chair to Adidas's is one of the most closely watched executive transitions in sportswear-industry history, given the two companies' shared origin and decades of direct competition.

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Jochen Zeitz

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1993 – 2011

18 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Zeitz became chief executive in 1993 at the age of 30, when Puma was losing money.

Legacy

He turned Puma into a sports-lifestyle brand and oversaw the 2007 takeover by PPR. Franz Koch succeeded him in 2011.

Source →

Challenges & Strategic Context

Puma's main challenge in 2026 is finishing its reset without losing too much revenue. It is deliberately cutting low-margin mass-merchant wholesale business, especially in North America and Europe, while consumer demand is soft. In Q2 2026 North American sales fell 16.7% and EMEA sales fell 12.9% (currency-adjusted), and the Middle East conflict hurt sales in that region.

Puma CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is the current CEO of Puma SE?

Arne Freundt is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of Puma SE, having assumed the role in November 2022.

What was Arne Freundt’s background before becoming CEO of Puma?

Arne Freundt joined Puma in 2011, serving for over a decade in top executive roles including Global Director of Retail & E-Commerce, General Manager of EMEA, and Chief Commercial Officer, driving Puma’s commercial expansion.

What are Arne Freundt’s strategic priorities as CEO?

Freundt instituted a strategy focused on "Brand Elevation": winning market share in performance running and football, growing US brand presence, elevating the women’s business, and upgrading product distribution tiers.

Who was Bjørn Gulden and what was his contribution as CEO?

Bjørn Gulden (former professional footballer) served as CEO from 2013 to 2022, leading a massive resurgence that doubled Puma’s revenues to over €8 billion, revitalizing basketball, signing Manchester City and Neymar, before departing to become CEO of Adidas.

What was Jochen Zeitz’s legendary contribution to Puma?

Jochen Zeitz was CEO from 1993 to 2011, saving Puma from near bankruptcy and transforming it into one of the most profitable and culturally influential sports-lifestyle brands in the world, pioneering sustainable business frameworks.

Who was Rudolf Dassler and what was his founding leadership role?

Rudolf Dassler led Puma from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1974, establishing the company’s fiery competitive spirit, commercial innovation with screw-in soccer studs, and international sports marketing.

Who led Puma between Rudolf Dassler’s death and Jochen Zeitz?

Rudolf’s son Armin Dassler led Puma from 1974 until 1986, guiding the company through its 1986 public stock offering before passing leadership to corporate investors during a difficult financial restructuring in the late 1980s.

What culture values define Puma executive leadership today?

Puma’s culture is defined by its motto "Forever Faster"—speed in commercial decision-making, courageous product design, informal hierarchy, and deep athletic camaraderie.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.