German sportswear brand Puma has named former Adidas sales head Arthur Hoeld as its new management board chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) to lead company growth.
This follows a mutual agreement between Arne Freundt and the supervisory board, which will see him depart on 11 April 2025 following disagreements over the direction of strategy implementation.
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Freundt’s departure concludes a 14-year tenure with Puma, during which he held several key leadership roles.
Welcoming the appointment, Puma Supervisory Board chair Héloïse Temple-Boyer said: “We are pleased to appoint Arthur Hoeld, a sports industry expert with a proven track-record and strong commercial expertise built over the last 26 years, as the new CEO of Puma. We are convinced that thanks to his strategic vision and focus on Product and Brand, Arthur will lead Puma into a new chapter of strength and growth.”
“I would also like to thank Arne Freundt on behalf of the entire Supervisory Board for all of his achievements at Puma and his commitment and dedication over 14 years. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours.”
Arthur Hoeld, who will take on the role from 1 July 2025, served as an executive board member at Adidas overseeing Global Sales until October 2024. He ascended through various executive roles, shaping marketing initiatives, steering brand strategy, and directing operations across Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
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By GlobalDataNotably, he led a transformation of Adidas’ “Originals” division, driving sales beyond €7bn.
As part of this leadership shake-up, Matthias Bäumer is appointed as chief commercial officer at Puma with immediate effect. In this capacity, Bäumer will manage sales subsidiaries, direct-to-consumer strategies, and go-to market organisations globally.
