Puma Appoints Björn Gulden as New CEO

German manufacturer of sporting equipment Puma SE Thursday said that it has appointed Björn Gulden as their new Chief Executive Officer from July 1.

The 47-year-old succeeds Franz Koch, who left the company at the end of March. Gulden will be based at PUMA’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Gulden, who holds nearly 20 years of experience in the sporting goods and footwear industry, has been CEO of Danish jewellery brand Pandora since the beginning of 2012.

From 2000 to 2011, the Norwegian native was Managing Director of Europe’s largest footwear retailer, Deichmann, where he also headed the US-subsidiaries Rack Room Shoes and Off Broadway Shoes as CEO and President.

Prior to 2000, he held several management positions at outdoor apparel company Helly Hansen and sporting goods firm Adidas, where he was Senior Vice President of Apparel and Accessories.

Gulden is currently member of the Supervisory Board of Tchibo GmbH in Germany and Expert ASA in Norway as well as member of the Advisory Board of Deichmann SE.

Jean-François Palus, Chairman of the PUMA Administrative Board and Group Managing Director of Kering, PUMA’s majority shareholder, said: “With Björn Gulden, we are pleased to have an experienced sports industry expert with proven leadership quality and know-how in managing sports and footwear brands taking up the reins of PUMA. I am absolutely convinced that Björn Gulden is the perfect fit to lead PUMA through its continuing restructuring and transformation program on its mission to become the most desirable and sustainable Sportlifestyle company in the world.”

Gulden added: “PUMA enjoys an enormous potential – both in the Performance and in the Lifestyle markets, and I am eager to help unlock this potential and further grow the company in the years to come.”

{jcomments on}