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Puma SE

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

Founders

Who Founded Puma?

Rudolf Dassler · Founded 1948 · HQ today: Herzogenaurach, Germany

Who founded Puma?

Puma was founded by Rudolf Dassler in 1948 in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is now led by Arthur Hoeld.

Founders
Rudolf Dassler
Founded
1948
Headquarters
Herzogenaurach, Germany
Number of founders
1
Current CEO
Arthur Hoeld (since 2025)
Where was Puma founded?
Puma was founded in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany in 1948. wikidata.org
When was Puma founded?
Puma was founded in 1948.
Who started Puma?
Puma was founded by Rudolf Dassler.
How old is Puma?
Puma is 78 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In 1948 the Dassler brothers ended their partnership after years of bitter conflict and split their shoe company. Rudolf Dassler set up on the other side of the Aurach river in their German hometown and named his company PUMA. His brother Adolf stayed and named his Adidas. The feud produced two of the world's largest sportswear companies and divided the town for decades.

Rudolf Dassler

Background

Rudolf Dassler (1898-1974) handled sales at Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik, the Herzogenaurach shoe company he ran with his younger brother Adolf (Adi), who led product design.

Role at Puma SE

Rudolf Dassler co-founded Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik with his brother Adi in the 1920s. After the brothers fell out during and after World War II, they split the business in 1948. Rudolf set up Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler (RUDA) on the other side of the Aurach river and renamed it PUMA the same year, while Adi founded Adidas. Rudolf ran Puma until his death in 1974, after which his son Armin Dassler took over.

Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler was born on March 26, 1898 in Herzogenaurach and died on October 27, 1974. In 1924 he joined the shoe company started by his younger brother Adolf, later the founder of Adidas. Rudolf Dassler was born in 1898.

Puma SE: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Arthur Hoeld

Chief Executive Officer

2025 – Present

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.

Arne Freundt

Former Chief Executive Officer

2022 – 2025

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.

Bjorn Gulden

Former Chief Executive Officer

2013 – 2022

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.

Jochen Zeitz

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1993 – 2011

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

Keep researching Puma

Who Founded Puma? FAQ

Who founded Puma?

Puma was founded by Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), a German cobbler, salesman, and entrepreneur, on October 1, 1948, in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany.

What was the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik before Puma was created?

In 1924, brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler founded Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in their mother’s laundry room in Herzogenaurach; Adolf crafted the shoes and Rudolf managed sales and marketing, equipping American sprinter Jesse Owens with gold-medal spikes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

What caused the bitter feud between Rudolf and Adolf Dassler in 1948?

During World War II, deep ideological, political, and family tensions escalated between the brothers and their wives; in 1948, the rift became permanent, leading the brothers to divide the company’s assets, factory workforce, and machinery.

Why was the town of Herzogenaurach known as the "Town of Bent Necks"?

For decades after 1948, Herzogenaurach residents were loyal to either Puma or Adidas; locals would famously look down at strangers’ shoes before deciding whether to speak with them, earning the town its nickname.

What was the original company name chosen by Rudolf Dassler?

Rudolf originally registered the company as "Ruda" (derived from the first two letters of Rudolf Dassler) before renaming it "Puma" because the big cat conveyed speed, agility, and dynamic athletic power.

How did Rudolf Dassler pioneer sports athlete endorsements?

Rudolf was a marketing visionary who recognized the power of international sports events, paying star soccer players and Olympic track athletes to wear Puma shoes and inaugurating the modern sports endorsement industry.

Did the Dassler brothers ever reconcile before their deaths?

Rudolf and Adi Dassler remained estranged for the rest of their lives; when they died (Rudolf in 1974, Adi in 1978), they were buried at opposite ends of the Herzogenaurach town cemetery.

How is Rudolf Dassler’s legacy celebrated at Puma today?

Puma celebrates Rudolf Dassler through archive-inspired collections (such as the Rudolf Dassler Legacy collection), honoring his daring spirit and the birthplace of Puma in Herzogenaurach.

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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.