PUMA’s chief leaving the company to move to Adidas

Puma SE’s chief executive officer is reportedly leaving to move to Adidas and lead the rival company. Business insiders said that Bjorn Gulden is making his exit at the end of this year and will then transfer to Adidas’ office.

As he has already resigned, Puma made an announcement late last week and told the employees that it has appointed Arne Freundt as the new CEO. He will be taking over the post that will be vacated by Gulden starting on Jan. 1, 2023.

Then again, while there were reports that Gulden is moving to Adidas, Reuters reported that the executive did not really say what his plans for the future are. The speculations just arose after he decided not to renew his contract with Puma which is expiring at the end of 2022.

His replacement, Freundt, is a veteran in the company and has been working with Puma for more than 10 years already. Last year, he was promoted to the chief commercial officer role and now he was once again promoted to the CEO post. It was reported that Freundt was given a 4-year contract for this promotion.

In any case, Gulden is not mentioning about his plans but Adidas was said to have confirmed last week that it is in talks with the outgoing Puma chief for the possibility of him its current CEO, Kasper Rorsted. The company has been searching for someone to succeed Rorsted since August since he is set to leave next year. Meanwhile, Puma already welcomed its incoming chief and thank Gulden for his big contributions to the company.

“In Arne Freundt, we have a recognized leader within the Company, taking over as CEO. He has been a designated candidate and is the ideal choice to continue PUMA’s very successful path and to further accelerate the Company’s momentum,” Puma’s chairman of the supervisory board, Héloïse Temple-Boyer, said in a press release. “He carries the PUMA family in his heart, and will ensure that PUMA continues to be the best partner for PUMA’s retailers, suppliers and athletes.”

Temple-Boyer went on to say, “We thank Bjørn Gulden for his excellent contributions during his more than nine years at PUMA in which he brought the PUMA Group back on track and made sure he leaves it in outstanding shape.”

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